Ian Ward
The Woodsman
So here we are, lined up at the starting gate of summer. It feels like just yesterday that I was going on about the beauty of drinking Irish Coffee in winter, but I guess that’s every year. Cyclical reflection.
As for summer though, as much as I wait all year long for vegetables in spring, the same can be said for fruit in the summer. Don’t get me wrong, summer provides us with some amazing vegetables as well, but the juice from a cold watermelon running down my chin in the heat of summer simply cannot be beat.
Growing up on the East Coast, I loved summer for all of the above things, but I also hated it for the other things it brought with it. That is, bugs. You can see them rearing their exoskeletal heads in Southern California at this time of year as well, but unlike the bloodthirsty hunger of, say, the mosquitos on the East Coast, the bugs here have some beautiful attributes. Honey bees, for example, to which we owe all our lives.
That might sound like a crazy statement, but if bees didn’t exist, people wouldn’t either. Out of the 100 crop species that provide us with 90 percent of our food, bees pollinate 70 percent of it. Or some shit like that. I’m not Bill Nye.
All of that was a way of me saying that I greatly appreciate it when I see local honey make its way onto a menu. To me, it shows a certain foresight; a more cerebral approach to providing guests with something delicious, while also following a moral inner compass. Thoughtfulness and depth.
Anyway, I was recently at Madison on Park (4622 Park Blvd., madisononpark.com) and found that they had several cocktails showcasing local honey. I ordered The Woodman, a cocktail that’s barrel-aged in charred American oak and containing 1776 Rye whiskey, Fernet-Branca, allspice dram and local honey. It’s rye-forward but still delightful with hints of clove, cinnamon and mildly bitter. I’ve always believed Fernet and honey are great companions, and although Fernet has an inherent sweetness to it, it adheres to a more bold profile when mixed with another sweet ingredient. They bond in a truly beautiful way.
The Woodsman is reminiscent of all great whiskey-forward cocktails. It has the complexity that the Fernet and allspice dram bring, along with the subduing nature of honey, while still being angsty and aggressive. Balanced, would be another word to use. Honestly, thoughtfulness and balance are the two pillars of any great cocktail.
Madison sources it’s honey from the San Diego Honey Company, a great source for local and infused honeys, as well as Manuka honeys. I recently wrote an article about depression and Manuka honey is one of the natural things that is highly recommended to combat it. I don’t know Maybe Google it. But it put a smile on my face.
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The Woodsman as prepared at Madison on Park
1/4 oz. Honey
1/4 oz. Fernet-Branca
1/4 oz. Allspice Dram
2 1/4 oz. James E. Pepper 1776 Straight Rye\
Place all ingredients in a tiny charred oak American Cask and allow time to mature. Once all ingredients have come to a sense of full incorporation, pour over ice and garnish with an orange twist.