Drinks

The Carpetbagger

Name: The Carpetbagger
Ingredients: 2 oz. Old Overholt Rye; 1 oz. pineapple cordial (recipe follows); ½ oz. lemon juice; ¼ oz. Fernet-Branca; Pinch mint sprig, for garnish; Pineapple wedge, for garnish; Chopped skin and core from 1 pineapple; 1 cup light brown sugar; 1 cinnamon stick; 5 cloves; 6 cups water; Combine ingredients in a large jar or pitcher. Cover and leave overnight. Strain into a second pitcher.

Should your bourbon run out (gasp!), here’s your Plan B

By Steve Russell
Recipe by Micah LeMon

July 8, 2021

Photo: Steve Russell

First off, if you discover your liquor cabinet somehow bereft of bourbon, do not dial 911. No doubt this is a legit emergency, but there are other ways to meet the direness of the situation. Indeed, perhaps this is an opportune time to try that dusty bottle of bourbon’s northern relation, rye whiskey. And if so, why not showcase it in a full-on fancy cocktail with mint and bittersweet amaro, created by mixologist Micah LeMon of the Alley Light in Charlottesville, Virginia. You may never go back to—nope, sorry, we can’t even utter such heresy.

Ingredients

- 2 oz. Old Overholt Rye
- 1 oz. pineapple cordial (recipe follows)
- ½ oz. lemon juice
- ¼ oz. Fernet-Branca
- Pinch mint sprig, for garnish
- Pineapple wedge, for garnish
For the pineapple cordial
- Chopped skin and core from 1 pineapple
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5 cloves
- 6 cups water
- Combine ingredients in a large jar or pitcher. Cover and leave overnight. Strain into a second pitcher.

Preparation

Add liquid ingredients to a shaker. Shake vigorously and pour into coupe glass. Garnish with pineapple wedge and mint sprig.

Steve Russell is a Garden & Gun contributing editor who also has written for Men’s Journal, Life, Rolling Stone, and Playboy. Born in Mississippi and raised in Tennessee, he resided in New Orleans and New York City before settling down in Charlottesville, Virginia, because it’s far enough south that biscuits are an expected component of a good breakfast.