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When coming up with new cocktails, I usually like to start with classic drink recipes like an Old Fashioned or Daiquiri. Classics are "classic" for a reason! These old-school cocktails usually only have a few ingredients, well-balanced flavors, and make great starting points for new drink ideas.

For this concept I really wanted to make a stirred and boozy sipper that showcases Bacardi Añejo Cuatro, which is a delicious blend of tropical aged rum. This rum has hints of vanilla, clove and toasted cedar and would be a decent replacement for bourbon in a lot of the usual whiskey cocktails.

I started by making a Sazerac (a classic New Orleans cocktails) with the Bacardi Cuatro but wasn't quite satisfied. I then tried it out in a type of Hanky Panky riff by mixing the Cuatro with sweet vermouth and Fernet Branca. I ended up combining the two by making some sort of rum-based Sazerac with Fernet Branca and a coffee liqueur rinse. Yeah I'm not exactly sure how I got there either but it's definitely boozy and delicious!

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Bacardi Añejo Cuatro
• 1/4 oz Fernet Branca
• Demerara sugar cube
• 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
• 2 dashes chocolate bitters
• Coffee liqueur rinse

How to make the Faster Than The Master cocktail:

1. Add the bitters to a mixing glass, then crush and dissolve a Demerara cube in them.
2. Add Bacardi Cuatro and Fernet Branca then stir with ice until chilled.
3. Rinse a chilled coupe glass with coffee liqueur then discard.
4. Strain into rinsed coupe then garnish with two skewered maraschino cherries.