Obsidian · Cacao

Six components. Bourbon, cacao syrup, bitters, orange, ice, cocoa dust. Everything visible before the pour.

MISE 01The bourbon

MISE 02Cacao syrup

MISE 03The bitters

MISE 04Finish set

Chill. Build. Stir. Finish. The whole drink is in the stir.

01

METHOD 01Chill

02

METHOD 02Build

1. Chill. Rocks glass into ice well 60 s. Mixing glass over cracked ice, chill 20 s, drain. Rim the rocks glass with a fine sieve of cocoa powder — one narrow band only.
2. Build. Into the chilled mixing glass: 8 ml cacao syrup + burnt Muscovado, 2 dashes house cacao-nib bitters, 1 dash Angostura, 60 ml Michter's 12-year bourbon.
3. Stir. Bar spoon, 20 seconds, 30 rotations. Target dilution 20%. Strain over the single hand-cut cube in the chilled rocks glass. The liquid should read deep mahogany with cacao ribbons.
4. Express & garnish. Wide Amalfi orange peel · squeeze skin-side down over the glass at 8 cm · pass a lit match through the oil spray. Rim the glass with the peel, drop it in at 2 o'clock. Float a single roasted cacao nib on the ice. Pass.

This is a chocolate drink that does not taste of chocolate — it tastes of the character cacao gives bourbon. Order it with something sweet OR with something salty, never with something bitter. Never with coffee — they fight.

• ×Cloudy. Over-stirred OR ice not dense enough. 30 rotations is the ceiling. Clinebell ice only.
• ×Too sweet. Syrup dosed by eye. Always by jigger. 8 ml is the standard — 10 ml is a dessert.
• ×Weak cacao read. Bitters not shaken before dashing. Cacao-nib bitters settle — always agitate the bottle first.
• ×Cocoa rim messy. Full rim ≠ house style. One narrow band, applied with a fine sieve, opposite side to sipping point.
• ×Cacao nib sinks. Nib is under-roasted OR wet. House-roast for 12 min at 140 °C, cool fully, store in dry vessel.

Weights & Measures Act compliant · Full ingredient declaration on request · Under-18s: non-alcoholic version available