There’s a slew of cocktail names that stay off the menu due to their licentious, aggressive, or possibly offensive nature. Yes, “Sharing is Karen,” “Mansplain,” and “Daddy Issues,” will never see print. Despite all of it, when these names and others occur in whatever twisted part of my brain conjures them, I still attempt to torture the current or acting general manager with the question: “Is it ok if I put a cocktail on the menu named Blumpkin Spice?”

This is one of those cocktail names. Say it three times in a row. It rolls right off the tongue.

Grundel Thumper

1.5 oz. Mezcal

.5 oz. Fresh Lime Juice

.5 oz. Lemon Sherbet

.5 oz. Raspberry Infused Manzanilla Sherry

.25 oz. Raspberry Syrup

2 Dashes Szechuan Peppercorn Bitters

4 Muddled Raspberries

Shake, double strain into small coupe, quaff.

Putting any ingredient into anything just one way, in this day and age, is just so boring. It’s more fun and pleasurable for everyone to hit it from every angle. No cocktail or dessert will ever match just how good a single piece of fresh fruit is, but a universal truth oblivious to that single piece of fresh fruit is that pastries and alcohol are also quite delicious. That’s way it seems so natural to put the all together, but the fruit usually fades into the distance whereas the other things take front and center.

Layering the star player in different ways can create new looks at how the flavor comes through. In this particular instance, we’ve got fresh, syrup, and an infusion into manzanilla sherry which is a little salty and a little acidic and goes tromping down the street, hand in hand with raspberries. They’re the two kids that have to be separated in class, you see. Like grapefruit and cinnamon, they’re like cheat codes when added to cocktails and do well with clear spirits. Sherry provide some body without having to add extra citrus and our favorite red brambler has the color, acidity, sweetness, and flavor to punch anything up. Aye, pisco, gin, tequila, and especially mezcal love a good raspberry. Of course, for this one you’ve got to muddle, which is a horrific pain in the ass as the seeds get in the tin and in the teeth of your Hawthorne. But hey, life is better with these small obstructions because they remind us how small and insignificant the little ones are compared to the big ones which usually aren’t that big at all. Remember when you wanted to ask that kid you had a crush on to dance and you didn’t? Now that you’re old you must look back at that as silly and ridiculous whereas at the time it felt like climbing Kilimanjaro. Well, life continues to give these tidbits to us. I used to be that way with dentists and now I go regularly to my bi-yearly tooth cleaning, fluoride mind control infusion.

I jest.