I followed my friend Jeff’s favorite proportions:
2 parts rye
1 part sweet vermouth
Dash of Angostura bitters

This is another cocktail I tried early on in the project, and it was a bit much for me at the time. Not anymore! There are several drinks that I thought tasted like straight, flaming booze early last year. Now I can taste them better – they are actually sweet and complex. Not too much for my tastebuds to handle anymore.

This project has expanded my palate with food, too. A year ago I would have NEVER added salsa or hot sauce to my food. Now I’ve been spicing up my meals pretty regularly. I grew up in a Scandinavian-American home with pretty bland food. No, wait. I don’t want to say “bland”. Because we ate some things, like fish and preserved meats, that other people would have a tough time with. But certainly not spicy or challenging that way.

This classic deserves classic status, for sure. Delicious.