DrinkWire is Liquor.com’s showcase for the best articles, recipes and reviews from the web’s top writers and bloggers. In this post, The Gastronom offers a whiskey cocktail.

The Bitter Smoke, in the words of one of our friends, "is a real gentleman's drink" with big bold flavors of whiskey and Italian amaro and oak smoke, making this a cocktail you might find Don Draper and his pals drinking!

This cocktail uses an American single malt whiskey to bring a hint of oak and a deep mellow flavor. We used Amaro Lucano, that venerable Italian herbal liqueur full of aromatic herbs, warm baking spices, and citrus peels that brings a wonderful complexity to any cocktail. A splash of amaretto adds a hint of nutty sweetness that ties the drink together.

We smoked the cocktail in a dome using American oak chips with a smoking gun, but you could use a flame proof plate and dome to smoke the whole cocktail. The smoke adds a rich perfume and pulls out the oak notes from the whiskey while giving this cocktail a dramatic and aromatic presentation!

• 1.75 oz Cut Spike Single Malt American Whiskey
• .75 oz Amaro Lucano
• .5 oz Amaretto

Add all spirits to a mixing glass. Add ice and stir to chill. Strain into a coupe and place in a smoking box or dome. Smoke the whole cocktail with oak chips and allow smoke to perfume the drink until presentation.

Cheers!