My brother-in-law and his wife were in town last weekend.  My in-laws were hosting a dinner, and they asked me to create a special cocktail in his honor.  He has spent much of his life in two major metropolitan areas, so I decided to blend cocktails named for the respective cities.  I used the Frisco and the District.  Obviously the former is named for San Francisco, and I learned about the latter cocktail in a Washington Post column (yes, the name refers to the District of Columbia).

If you have enough, you can say the name without stuttering

So this is how you make a liquid ode to these great cities:

2 ounces rye whiskey
.5 ounces Benedictine DOM
.5 ounces ginger liqueur
Juice from half a lemon
1-2 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine in shaker, shake like you’re flying between the two cities and hit some turbulence, and strain into a chilled glass.

There are a number of good ryes on the market.  I think Bulleit is a great value and gives you the best bang for your buck.  For the ginger liqueur I recommend Barrow’s Intense or Domaine de Canton.

There is a lot of crossover between the source libations.  Both have a strong rye base and use lemon juice. If my recipe results in a cocktail that is too tart for you,  you can add a little more Benedictine DOM and ginger liqueur.

You might be asking why do I describe this cocktail as “groovy?”  Simply because when you mashup the names of the two drinks one of the words is “disco.”  So for the love of God put away your bell bottoms.  Please.