Last Night’s Drink – Frisco

I’d been craving a Frisco for a while lately.  The weather has turned unseasonably warm the last few days, but I was just in the mood.   Besides, the temperature was supposed to drop 25 degrees overnight so a tart, herbal and bracing drink was just the thing.  QPD and I had a friend coming over and I thought this might be one that he might like since the flavor profile was sweet and intense at the same time.  I was right.

Frisco

2 oz rye (I used Old Overholt)
3/4 Benedictine
3/4 lemon juice

Shake with cracked ice and strain into cocktail glass.  Garnish with lemon wheel.
(this one comes from Paul Harrington’s Cocktail:  The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century)

This is one of the few winter cocktails we drink with juice in it.  For me, it’s just a perfect blend of spiciness from the rye, herbalness from the Benedictine, and sour from the lemon.  This is also one of the reasons I like the classics; there are only three ingredients but it makes for a very entertaining cocktail to sip.

Check out Frank Bunni’s great piece on searching for a Frisco in some of NYs best cocktail bars (at least in my opinion) without success.  Reminded me of a piece called Searching for Jack; Two Guys, One Drink, 60 Bars I’d read in the Washington Post (2003) from some guys who were searching for a Jack Rose cocktail.  They never found one either.