Double Fill-Up

I’ve been drinking a lot of these lately, the Double Fill-Up. The recipe’s from Death + Co. although they’re not on the menu currently. I never bothered to learn whether the name is a pun; one of the head bartenders at D+C is named Philip.

You can find pomegranate molasses at an Indian or Middle Eastern food store. I bought a bottle of Al Wadi brand at Kalustyan’s. It’s sweetened and thickened pomegranate juice with a kick of citric acid that makes the cocktail pleasingly tart. I like mine that way, so I add a scotch more than a teaspoon and a scotch less of simple syrup.

For the simple syrup, I made it myself from Sugar in the Raw: two parts sugar to one part water. Boil it and stir it until the sugar dissolves completely and the solution is thick. Let it cool in the pan then funnel it into a bottle, adding a shot of vodka to retard spoilage.

I don’t muddle the mint much; the shaking will loosen a lot of its flavor into the drink.

For the rye, my regular Rye Rules apply: use Rittenhouse bonded (100 proof) when I need it strong, Sazerac when I need it smooth and Old Overholt (“Old Overcoat”) when I need it cheap (but still tasty; any drink this sweet with this many ingredients doesn’t always need a top-shelf spirit).