Thus Always To Tyrants, the infa­mous phrase shout­ed as John Wilkes Booth jumped from Ford The­ater’s bal­cony after he assas­si­nat­ed Abe Lin­coln. The phrase is said to have orig­i­nat­ed with Bru­tus dur­ing the assas­si­na­tion of Julius Cae­sar. It’s also the Vir­ginia state mot­to. So what bet­ter whiskey to fea­ture in this cock­tail than Bow­man Broth­ers Small Batch Vir­ginia Whiskey. I incor­po­rat­ed a touch of Smith & Cross Rum and home­made cher­ry gas­trique to include a cher­ry vanil­la com­po­nent. Then I added Dolin dry ver­mouth and lemon tree bit­ters to bal­ance the sweet­ness and bright­en up the cocktail.

Recipe

• 1 1/2 oz Bow­man Broth­ers Small Batch Vir­ginia Whiskey
• 1/2 oz Smith & Cross Rum
• 1/2 oz cher­ry gastrique
• 1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
• 2 dash­es Bit­ter­cube Lemon Tree Bitters
• Gar­nish with a lemon twist

Add all ingre­di­ents in a mix­ing glass except the gar­nish. Stir with ice. Strain into a chilled cock­tail glass. Gar­nish with a lemon twist.