Cocktail Of The Month: Peer Editor

June is a month of celebration for many, which means a lot of thirsty guests and overworked bartenders. It's with this in mind that we feature a cocktail as delicious as it is simple—a sure-fire and easy-to-make crowd favorite, and it comes from New York City-born bartender Laura Newman, now pouring at Dave's Pub in Birmingham, Ala.

Newman has been making waves on the national bartending scene collecting accolades and recognitions for a few years now, which recently include being named a Diplomatico World Tournament NYC Regional Finalist 2017, a Beverage Journal Bartenders to Watch 2016, and a Patron Margarita of the Year National Finalist 2016, among many others. Here, the two-time World Class Regional Finalist and former St-Germain Brooklyn Ambassador shares the recipe and inspiration for her beloved Peer Editor:

The Daily Meal: What's the backstory behind this drink? How did it get its name?
Laura Newman: This drink came together while talking to my boyfriend, who's also a bartender, about some of our favorite cocktail ingredients. We're both huge fans of Bulleit Bourbon—we actually met at Camp Runamok, which is a weeklong bartender whiskey camp in Lebanon Junction, Ky., and some of the first photos of us together were taken there. Little did we know that we'd end up dating and I'd move down to Alabama to be with him!

While I no longer work for St-Germain, I'm still a huge fan of theirs; they're one of the O.G. modifiers of the modern bartending movement and have stood the test of time for good reason: it's an incredibly beautiful, complex product that really enhances any drink. One thing I noticed while working for them is that the public perception of the brand is that it's a "girlie" or feminine product, so I love introducing it to men (who claim that they aren't fans) in stirred, spirit-forward cocktails.

Meanwhile, I'm a huge fan of Cynar and Campari America products in general—I worked for the same restaurant group as Amor Y Amargo in New York for five years so it's kind of hard for me to not love amari and the herbal complexity that it brings to the table. Cynar means a lot to my boyfriend as well, as he was the counselor for the Campari cabin at Runamok this past year and is their unofficial ambassador in Birmingham. In summary, while I wouldn't say that this is a collaborative drink, the name comes from the fact that my boyfriend acted as official taste tester for this drink, which has a lot of ingredients that are meaningful to both of us.

How has your recent move from New York to Alabama, which is a control state, impacted your bartending?
Compared to New York City, bartending in Alabama is like bartending in another country—everything is so different here! Being a control state basically means that nearly every single liquor store is state-run and the state decides which liquor is allowed to be sold in the entire state and that taxes liquor at an extremely high rate, so a lot of craft brands are prohibitively expensive to use in menu cocktails. Unfortunately, this means that I no longer have access to a huge array of spirits that I used to be able to use (for example, I want to say there are five mezcals that I can get in the entire state: two of them taste like paint thinner, one of them is way too expensive to use in cocktails, and the other two are often out of stock), so it's kind of like being a painter and being told that I can no longer use a bunch of colors. While I'm a huge believer in the phrase that there is no creativity without boundaries, living in a control state can be very frustrating when I know that a drink would taste amazing with a specific product that I don't have access to.

If you could choose, what would be your last drink and why?
For a classic, my last drink would be a daiquiri. I drink more of these than anything else, because to me they're the perfect cocktail—they're more than the sum of their three ingredients, they're infinitely customizable (I'm partial to cane syrup as the sweetener and a blend of white rums for the base), and any bar with citrus can make one. To me, this drink is like a bartender's fingerprint because every one is unique to the person making it, and I love seeing what people come up with.

For a specific menu item, I'd want the Di Pompelmo at Amor y Amargo to be my last drink. I've had more of these than any other menu drink anywhere, and when I worked at Mother of Pearl and Cienfuegos, I'd stop in after work and have a "shift drink," which was a double Di Pompelmo. It's complex yet refreshing, easy for the bartender to make because it's on draft, and it's at my mentor Sother Teague's bar, so of course I had to give him a shoutout.

Peer Editor
1.75 oz. Bulleit Bourbon
.75 oz. Cynar
.75 oz. St-Germain
2 dashes of Reagan's Orange Bitters
Pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice; stir. Strain into a double rocks glass with ice; garnish with an orange zest.