Cocktail recipe
100 Year Old Cigar
A dark, aromatic conversation between aged rum, herbs, smoke and absinthe.
Ingredients
- 52.5 ml (1¾ oz) aged rum
- 15 ml (½ oz) Cynar-style artichoke amaro
- 15 ml (½ oz) Bénédictine-style herbal liqueur
- 7.5 ml (¼ oz) peated Islay Scotch whisky
- 1 dash aromatic bitters
- 7.5 ml (¼ oz) absinthe for rinsing; discard excess
- Garnish: none
Preparation
Rinse a cold Nick & Nora with absinthe and discard all free liquid. Stir rum, amaro, herbal liqueur, peated whisky and bitters over hard ice until supple and chilled. Strain into the perfumed glass and serve without garnish: the aromatic layers should arrive unannounced.
Glassware
Chilled Nick & Nora glass
History
Maks Pazuniak created the 100 Year Old Cigar around 2015–16 while working at the Counting Room in Brooklyn, then brought it to Jupiter Disco. The recipe appeared in Carey Jones’s 2016 book *Brooklyn Bartender*. The unusual structure—aged rum, Cynar, Bénédictine, peated Scotch, bitters and an absinthe rinse—evokes the tobacco, spice and smoke of an old cigar without containing tobacco. This is a documented contemporary creation, not a Prohibition relic despite the name.
Mixology View
Keep the absinthe as a rinse, not an added pour. The smoke should hover in the background; the aged rum provides the drink’s heart.