Our new GM, Joey Lee, came up the other night and said, “Hey, I think we need a stirred seasonal on the menu.” Ok. Once again, however, I had a tough time thinking of a decent name that would be kosher for the menu. All the ones my sick mind conjured, were not suitable for work…Shit, but now I think of it, Nut Job is a good name…I’ve always been that way, not a nut job, well maybe a bit…No, I meant unable to come up with a zinger when needed. In the early times when I was just a future bartender, I could never come up with a good insult or comeback on the fly, I would always think of it much later or even the next day.

Ugh. Kids don’t sit around in grade school and say, “I want to be a bartender when I’m middle aged.” Yeah, yeah, it’s part self deprecation and part self loathing. Sue me.

Going Nuts

1 oz. Pecan Infused Rye

1 oz. Meletti Amaro

.5 oz. (Large) Oloroso Sherry

.5 oz. (Small) Housemade Creme de Noyaux

2 Dashes Housemade Cherry Walnut Bitters

Garnish with an expressed orange peel.

Serve with a side of beer nuts…Because…Shit man, why not?

The whole point here is nuttiness. We’ve got four products here imparting that and the Meletti exists to provide the bitter, the kola, and to balance out the sweetness a bit. Now that I’ve had time to mull it all over, I think adding Cardamaro might work even better…It’s got some nut action too. I’ll have to try it later.

It’s a bit of a process to infuse the pecans into rye if you want to do it right. Meaning, there’s certain nuts, like pecans and walnuts, that are super tannic and if you infuse them for too long or don’t take the right steps, the result will dry your mouth out like tea steeped too long. It’s easy but takes a minute

I made beer nuts for the first time to be served alongside, as usually someone orders a drink like this when they sit down before any food hits the table and it’s nice to have some delicious nuts to munch on while sucking back a strong stirred number. I love beer nuts. Of course, I forgot to take any pictures of the process, so doing a post on it may be futile. If I have time on Saturday I’ll do it.