Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: I’m All Right

…Don’t nobody worry ’bout me. Thanks to Chris Kreider’s third period hat trick to eliminate the Carolina Hurricanes Vichy Whalers, I am very much alright this evening. NHL playoffs are glorious and heart wrenching all at the same time. This week’s drink was a last minute switch out, as the original one I was planning on making involved absinthe, and I didn’t think it was a good idea to involve absinthe on a game night, so I’ll be saving that one for later on down the road. I pivoted to the All Right from the Waldorf Astoria Bar Book. The version I made is the Tom Bullock version from 1917, which swaps the base spirit for rye and adds an orange liqueur and bitters. I should make the original one soon.

All Right (Tom Bullock Version)

2.25 oz. Rittenhouse Rye

.75 oz. Pierre Ferrand dry curacao or Grand Marnier

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass. Add ice and stir for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

There is an ever so subtle orange nose with some slight bitter undertones. It’s nice but I think it could use a garnish to pick it up a little bit. I don’t know why but it feels like something is missing here, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

Once again Grand Marnier surprises me. The orange flavors start out strong, but not as cleanly as last week’s drink when it was cutting through gin easily. I’m not really surprised as the rye whiskey is a much more formidable ingredient the orange liqueur has to contend with to overpower, and it definitely does not. What is really interesting is how the liqueur initially suppresses the rye flavors. I didn’t expect the spiciness of the rye to be held back as much at it is at first. Though the more I have of this, the more the whiskey flexes its muscle and starts to shine through.

While the rye does make its presence known, the Grand Marnier does hang around and not gonna lie, I’m not sure if this is a good thing. Grand Marnier is, as we know from last week, a very strong ingredient, and it hangs around a bit too long for my liking, and it might be too much. I’m not sure what the difference is between gin and rye as to the effect those base spirits have on Grand Marnier but I don’t recall the orange being this pronounced, and sticking around on the palate as long as it does. To the slight detriment of the drink actually. The finish is surprisingly heavy on the orange, and is a bit more bitter than expected, with mixture of whiskey spice in there as well.

So yeah, This is an interesting drink, and I think I like it, though I’m not sure I like it at this exact moment. It was late in the evening when I made it, and it isn’t giving me nightcap vibes. It seems like it’s an early evening/first course drinker. I’ll be testing that theory out for sure. But just not on game days….