We’ve been trying a new approach to getting through all of Mr. Boston’s cocktails: the alphabet. We look through the book in alphabetical order in search of a drink that fits two criteria: we have the ingredients and we don’t mind making/drinking it tonight.
We skipped past a gin and creme de yvette cocktail because we weren’t in the mood for something so bracing, and settled on the Bolero. It looked warming, and the jackets the Maddox Brothers are wearing on the cover of this old hillbilly swing album kind are sort of reminiscent of boleros.
Here’s what’s in this one: 
- 1 1/2 oz. Old Mr. Boston Imported Rum
- 3/4 oz. Apple Brandy
- 1/4 tsp. sweet vermouth
Stir well with cracked ice and strain into 3 oz. cocktail glass.
Notes on prep: We assume that when Mr. B calls for Jamaica rum he means a spiced variety (we usually like Kraken and Sailor Jerry). In this, he asks for straight up imported rum, so we used Bacardi Gold, Laird’s Applejack, and Martini & Rossi Vermouth.
Liz’s Take: This drink smells really nice: sweet, caramelly. But Bacardi rum is kind of all sugary burn, and so is this drink. The Applejack lends an interesting fruity note that might really complement a more interesting rum. I don’t really know what the sweet vermouth is doing; I can’t really taste it in such a small quantity. This drink feels mildly pointless, but it’s chilling me out after a long week, so there it is.
Chris’s Take: I was kind of thrilled about this drink. It’s called the “Bolero,” a term that in country/western culture is interchangeable with “bolo,” an awesomely stupid style of necktie that you might have seen on such luminaries as mid-80s Johnny Depp and all-the-time Paula Poundstone. For years, I worked at a Western store, the kind of NYC tourist trap that rolled German tourists high on John Wayne nostalgia with our insane markups. We worked on commission, and shockingly, we could rake up ridiculous money selling these things. We had the cheap pewter ones, made in Oregon for about twenty bucks, but we also had serious rodeo bling for hundreds and hundreds of dollars. First day I started work, I asked who the fuck would ever wear these things. Answer was, a shockingly large number of people. After drinking this, I’m wondering who the fuck would want to drink it. The rum is harsh and the applejack is lost entirely. The vermouth is in such a ludicrously small dose that it’s ineffectual. Don’t bother with this. And if you want a bolo tie, don’t buy it in NYC. They’re way cheaper online.
Our Ratings:
Prep: Easy
Price: Cheapish
Ingredient Accessibility: Medium (Applejack is at most decent liquor stores… so we can’t get it at our cheap homebase on Flatbush Avenue)
Taste: Warm, heavy
Final Verdict: Liz might order this if a cocktail menu described it really enticingly and used some interesting ingredients we don’t have on hand at home. If Chris saw this on a bar menu, he’d turn on the heels of his awesome cowboy boots and bounce right out.
Midcentury Mixology 