Enjoyed: Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Listed on the menu: Yes, as “Boutineer” (sic).

Ingredients: Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey, St. Germaine, orange juice and angostura bitters. 

The occasion: My very special friend, SM, was on the eve of a milestone birthday, so dinner and drinks seemed like a great way to kick off the celebration. We selected Bang! in downtown Charlottesville so we could share Asian-inspired tapas.

My rating: ** out of 5. Although the drink was generous in size (filled to the rim and not an ice cube in sight), the quantity did not make up for the quality. The menu labeled this cocktail as an “Old Fashioned,” so I judged it as such. The overly-fruity flavor, while delicious, was far from what I like–and expect–in an Old Fashioned. I sought out the (very young) bartender to ask what she put into the drink, beyond the whiskey and St. Germaine listed on the menu, and she replied, “orange juice and angstra (sic) bitters”. Aha, that explained so much. I was initially intrigued by the St. Germaine as a compliment to the whiskey, but the orange juice overshadowed everything and made this, in effect, a tropical drink but without the fun of a paper umbrella.

Final thoughts: Did I mention that the bartender was very young? Bartending, I have found, is an art that is usually enhanced by age and experience.