Chill 12 oz Dickel rye. Brown 2 oz A-5 wagyu beef fat in a small pan until oily and free of solids. Cool slightly, then stir the warm fat into 12 oz rye in a sealable jar. Let sit at room temperature for 4–12 hours, then freeze for 4 hours. Remove hardened fat and strain spirit through a fine mesh and coffee filter into a clean bottle. Store refrigerated. Use 2 oz per cocktail.

Stir the cocktail

Add 2 oz of the A-5 wagyu fat-washed Dickel rye, 0.5 oz Diplomático Mantuano rum and 0.25 oz La Cigarrera Pedro Ximenez sherry to a mixing glass. Add 2 dashes mole bitters, 2 dashes orange bitters and, if using, the half Demerara sugar cube (or 1/4 tsp demerara).

Dilute and chill

Fill the mixing glass with large, cold ice. Stir briskly but smoothly with a bar spoon for 30–45 seconds (or until the mixing glass is well-chilled and diluted ~20–25% depending on initial spirit strength).

Strain and serve

Using a Hawthorne or julep strainer, strain the cocktail into a rocks glass over one large ice cube.

Garnish

Express an orange peel over the drink by holding it about 2–3 inches above the surface and giving it a firm twist to release oils; rub the peel rim on the glass and drop it in as a garnish.

Tools & Finishing

Use a clear large ice cube for slower dilution and a clean presentation. If the fat-washed rye has any residual cloudiness, decant and filter again through a coffee filter before using.