I stumbled upon this recipe when I was looking for a nice rye-based cocktail I could add to my repertoire. Two things attracted me to the libation which caused me to give it a long look. The first was the combination of rye whiskey and dark rum which is an unusual combination to say the least. The second was the relative simplicity of the serving. So many of the modern cocktails require exotic liqueurs and syrups which, either are not available to the home bartender, or require too much effort to find (or make) for the sake of a single cocktail. This modern creation however uses a mix of ingredients (Rye Whiskey, Dark Rum, Orange liqueur, Lemon Juice, Grapefruit Juice, Bitters and Sugar Syrup) which are all easy for me to work with.
The bar drink was apparently put together by Lally Brennan and Ti Adelaide Martin (In the Land of Cocktails) with the assistance of Ted Haigh (Dr. Cocktail) when they were gathered at Lally’s House to celebrate the first Mardi Gras after Hurricane Katrina. The name is an homage to Lally’s and Ti Adelaide’s grandmother, Nellie Valentine.
Whoa Nellie!
1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Sonoma County Rye)
1/2 oz Dark Rum (Coruba Dark Jamaican Rum)
1/2 oz Orange Liqueur (Cointreau)
1/3 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/3 oz Lemon Juice
a few dashes of Bitters (Fees Cocktail Bitters)
1/3 oz Sugar Syrup
Ice
Grapefruit Twist
Add the ingredients into a metal shaker with plenty of ice
Shake until the outside of the shaker begins to frost
Strain into a cocktail glass
Garnish with a twist of Grapefruit
Please Enjoy Responsibly!
And if you are interested in more recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for my mixed drink recipes!
Note: My review for Coruba Dark Jamaican Rum will publish tomorrow, and my review for Sonoma County Rye will publish two days after that.
Chimo!
Eau Claire Distillery 
My opinion is that the cocktail is perhaps a touch too dry for my liking, and the dash of Calvados which is supposed to provide a flavour accent is easily be lost especially with a flavourful gin. When I experimented with the libation, I found that the addition of sweetener in the form of a small amount of both Grand Marnier dash of sugar syrup improved the flavour considerable. I also added a touch more Apple Brandy such that its flavour could more forcefully play with my selected gin (
Pinnacle Gin is a Beam/Suntory spirit imported from the United Kingdom and (according to the back label) bottled by Portfield Importers, in Deerfield Illinois. Pinnacle is a London Dry Gin handcrafted in small batches, 4x distilled from 100 % grain, infused with botanicals, and bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.
The elimination of aromatized wine from the recipe is probably because this serving only works well with fresh vermouth. Many persons (and unfortunately many bartenders) do not realize that aromatized wines will begin to oxidize immediately after being opened and exposed to the air. They can undergo a very undesirable change in the matter of only a few weeks. This oxidized flavour has a deleterious effect upon both the vermouth and the cocktail.
The Rum Howler Blog 