haverna

1 1/2 oz Averna
1/2 oz Pimm's No. 1
1/2 oz House Sour Mix (*)
1/4 oz Pineapple Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice (**). Garnish with an orange wheel.

(*) I know that Eastern Standard's sour mix is lemon, lime, simple, and a little egg white. I have seen sour mix made with 1 part each lemon, lime, and simple, but I have a feeling that Eastern's is 2 parts simple to 1 part lemon, 1 part lime.
(**) See text -- I recommend not serving it on the rocks; straining it into a cocktail glass would be preferable here.

Two Sundays ago, I needed to get some dinner so I decided to stop by Eastern Standard. For my first drink, I asked bartender Hugh Fiore for the Haverna that recently appeared on the menu. With the combination of Averna and pineapple juice, it reminded me of the Averna Pineapple Shrub, except here the acid source was citrus juice instead of vinegar. I was not sure whether the drink name was a combination of Havana and Averna (some Havana variations contain pineapple juice), so when I asked Hugh, he forwarded me on to Kevin Martin who created the drink. Kevin explained that Averna's marketing slogan akin to the dairy council's "Got Milk?" is "Have Averna" which morphed into the Haverna.
The Haverna greeted me with a dark aroma that ensconced a hint of fruit; moreover, the drink had a nice frothiness to it from the shaken pineapple juice and the egg white in the sour mix. The sip was a combination of citrus, pineapple, and Averna's caramel, while Averna's bitter notes appeared on the swallow followed by a gentle lingering pineapple flavor. While the drink was rather tasty similar to the Averna Pineapple Shrub, I wished that it had not been served on the rocks. Since I was eating and not downing the drink, the ice melted and the extra dilution threw off the balance of the drink. I would rather have the drink room temperature than have it fall apart like that. Overall, I am not a very big proponent of cocktails served on the rocks unless the goal is to dilute something that is too strong or too sweet (i.e.: Curaçao Punch); Juleps, Fixes, Highballs, and Tiki drinks are a different story. I do understand that a lot of bars prefer to serve cocktails on the rocks in an Old Fashioned glass for the extra ice makes the glass look filled.