Day 12: Monty Burns

Good afternoon, and welcome back to our daily dosage of cocktail nerditude. It's been interesting to see how much things have been changing in the past few days. Apparently, the government has actually approved a yuuuge stimulus package to help out everyone in need. I don't know about you, but I never hold my breath when the federal government says I'll be receiving money. If I receive a piece of that, I'll be pretty ecstatic, but if I don't, then it's back to where we were a few days ago. Since everyone has been talking about the "haves" and the "have-nots" when it comes to money lately, I could resist sharing this drink inspired by my favorite fictional millionaire, Springfield's own Montgomery Burns.

In 1989, the world was introduced to their, soon to be, most famous family of all time, the Simpsons. The Christmas themed "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" was not only the first appearance of the Simpsons family, but also when we are introduced to the miserly Charles Montgomery Burns, owner of the Springfield Power Plant. Simpsons creator, Matt Groening, drew inspiration for the Burns character from real-life billionaires such at Howard Hughes and John D. Rockefeller, but he also based some of his character on his high school teacher, Mr. Bailey. We see Mr. Burns throughout the series being developed into both a very power-hungry tyrant as well as a senile, lonely man who's out of touch with the modern world.

I think that's one of my favorite things cocktails can do, take you back to a simpler time. Mr. Burns made me think of classic cocktail from the Old Waldorf-Astoria bar, the Bobby Burns. Named after the Scottish poet, Robert Burns, this drink has old-timer written all over. It's essentially a Scotch Manhattan (or Rob Roy) with the addition of the classic herbal liqueur Benedictine. I thought perhaps we could make this a touch more luxurious for Mr. Burns.

Monty Burns

1.5oz Scotch Blend (I really like a ratio of 5 parts Dewars, 3 parts Macallan 12, and 1 part Lagavulin 16)

1oz Bianco Vermouth (I used Carpano)

.25oz Green Chartreuse (If you want to drink like a real millionaire, try it with VEP)

.5oz Cardamaro

2 dashes orange bitters

Nick & Nora, or any stemmed cocktail glass.

Stir and strain.

Garnish with expressed lemon peel.

I originally threw this cocktail together for the finals of a big Scotch competition years ago. Let's just say, I hope those videos I had to make aren't out there anywhere. So go ahead and drink like you're Monty Burns tonight. The way this whole thing is bringing people together over the internet makes me feel like a rich man. See you all tomorrow. Keep Shaking.