A lot of colorful people, both real and fictional, have been and are racketeers.  Meaning someone who's engaged in an illegal business, the word isn't used much anymore (it dates to the 1920s) and usually refers to someone in organized crime.  Even Bugs Bunny posed as one in the 1946 cartoon "Racketeer Rabbit."  The Racketeer cocktail isn't nearly as old as the word, as it seems Stephen Cole created it no later than 2009, and the Floppy Disk Repair Company in Austin introduced me to it.

1 ounce rye
1 ounce mezcal
.5 ounces sweet vermouth
.5 ounces Benedictine DOM
.25 ounces yellow Chartreuse
3 dashes Peychaud's bitters

Rinse the inside of a chilled glass with a smoky Scotch.  Combine the ingredients in a shaker with ice, stir with the intense purpose of an aspiring you know what, and strain into the chilled glass.

The Racketeer is a robust cocktail.  That's not surprising for a drink containing rye (like the Scofflaw, another criminal themed cocktail), mezcal (tequila's smokier cousin featured in drinks such as the Pura Vida) and two herbal liqueurs, none of which are even remotely weak.  Fortunately the Benedictine DOM and sweet vermouth keep the Racketeer from fitting you with cement shoes, alcoholically speaking. The many ingredients may seem exotic, but you can find them at most liquor stores.  Like most tricky scores, the payoff is worth it.

So what can you do as you have a Racketeer? If you film tastes run towards something more serious than Bugs Bunny (I love classic Warner Brothers cartoons), I suggest a classic like The Godfather (my favorite movie) or The Sting. Depending on what music you like, you can listen to songs such as "Bad To The Bone" by George Thorogood or "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson.

Don't have too many Racketeers at once.  We don't want you to have to take the Fifth and need an attorney.