The Gryphon Recipe

Make honey butter bourbon

In a small bowl, vigorously whisk softened unsalted butter and honey until smooth and homogenous. Place 3 oz bourbon in a jar, add the honey-butter mixture, cap, and shake vigorously for 30–45 seconds. Let sit at room temperature for 2–4 hours, then refrigerate and strain through a fine mesh or cheesecloth when ready to use. Use 0.5 oz of the resulting infused bourbon per cocktail. (If you prefer simpler prep, omit infusion and stir 0.5 oz bourbon with 1/2 tsp honey until dissolved.)

Make syrup

Combine demerara sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Split the vanilla bean and scrape seeds into the pan (or add extract later), add the pod, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Simmer 3–4 minutes to marry flavors, then remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Strain out solids and transfer syrup to a sealed container. Syrup keeps refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Use 0.5 oz per cocktail.

Chill glass

Place a rocks glass in the freezer or fill it with ice water to chill while you build the cocktail.

Combine ingredients

In a mixing glass, add 2 oz bourbon, 0.5 oz honey butter bourbon (or 0.5 oz honey-sweetened bourbon if you skipped the infusion), 0.5 oz spiced vanilla demerara syrup, and 2 dashes Angostura bitters. Fill the mixing glass with large, fresh ice.

Stir

Stir the mixture gently for 20–30 seconds (about 20–30 full strokes) until well chilled and properly diluted (the spoon should feel cold).

Prepare orange oil and serve

Discard ice or water from the chilled rocks glass and place a large clear ice cube in it. Hold the orange zest skin-side down about 3–4 inches above the glass and give it a firm squeeze/pluck to express the citrus oil over the surface of the cocktail (rotate as you squeeze to release a ribbon of oil). Optionally, rub the rim of the glass with the zest and drop the used zest into the drink as a garnish. Strain the stirred cocktail over the large ice cube. Serve immediately.

Final notes

Taste and adjust sweetness with a few drops of syrup if desired. The finished cocktail should balance rich honey-buttered bourbon, warm spiced vanilla notes, and a bright hit of orange oil aroma with the bitters adding depth.