After taking the reins of the Rustic Bar Program from the indomitable Nate Dawg, one of my first cocktails to hit the list was something called Alpha Carotene. There were more than a couple of others too. I hit the ground running. The bartenders were all super annoyed with me. Six new cocktails in the first week. Oh man, what a spaz. For reference, my first email to the bar staff concerning the new cocktails is dated 9.12.2018. Yeah, I’ve been doing this for a while now. There were four other bartenders at the time, all gone. Anyway, let’s examine the task at hand here before I deviate:

Alpha Carotene 

2 oz. Elijah Craig Bourbon (this was our well bourbon at the time, soon to be replaced by Old Grand Dad bonded)

3/4 Fresh Carrot Juice

1/2 Cardamom Syrup

1/2 Orange Juice

1/4 Lime Juice

1 Dash Caraway Bitters

Shake, BFR, grated nutmeg to finish.

The name was eventually changed to Foresight…Still terrible.

My first impression is that the specs seem off here. Looks too sweet. It’s possible the orange juice at the time of the cocktail’s inception was acidic. Orange juice is never stable. It veers around from sweet to acidic to tasteless. You don’t really learn this until you’re a few years in. I didn’t think much about it until Denise started giving me the ends from the orange garnishes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Yes, each batch of oranges tastes different from the previous one.

I do remember the carrot juice was a bit of a pain in the ass to keep stable. It turned brownish after just a day or so. I’d like to think about redoing this. You know, come full circle. Hey, there’s a cocktail name right there. Also, this isn’t the most seasonal bevvie. Carrots, yeah, but no. They’re available all year. Let’s ask ourselves what pairs well with Mr. Carrot. Well, apricots for one which just happen to be in full bloom right now. Carrots also go well with yogurt, especially roasted carrots which I’ve also been very fond of. The cardamom thing is nice, but it almost always overpowers if you’re not careful.

I think this is how I’d do an Alpha Carotene redux:

1 oz. Sesame Infused Bourbon?

1 oz. Scotch

.75 oz. Roasted Carrot Calpico

.25 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice

.25 oz. Lemon Sherbet

.25 oz. Apricot Syrup

Two Drops Saline Solution

Garnish with some sort of sesame thingamabob?

I’m thinking dill as a garnish? I’ve always wanted a dillish cocktail. Dill tincture? Fuck yeah. That may actually work. Crap, now the wheels are turning a bit more. This would be better with a split of aquavit and genever maybe. Hmm. I’d have to drink a few of these to iron it all out.

Yeah, it’s the Beelzebubba formula once again. Sue me. Yogurt good.

The point of this exercise is to illustrate how far we all come. The early years in comparison to the later ones, but then back again. In five years I may look at the original Alpha Carotene specs as a stroke of pure genius…Or maybe not. Hard to tell. It was never that good in the first place, just different. Hey, once again we have the cocktail as a metaphor for life. Maybe every single thing we do can be used as a lesson for our future selves, eh?