The Butcher's Reserve

When you're dropping serious money on a dry-aged ribeye, you need a cocktail that won't get bullied off the plate. The Butcher's Reserve meets that marbled fat and charred crust with its own kind of intensity. Built on a high-rye bourbon backbone, this old-fashioned gets its savory edge from Cynar, that bittersweet Italian amaro made from artichokes. It sounds weird until you taste how those herbal, almost meaty notes play with the caramelized maple syrup. The Peychaud's brings an anise-tinged complexity that cuts right through the richness, while orange bitters add a bright spark to keep everything lively. The result is spirit-forward but not one-note, bitter but balanced, with enough sweetness to echo the char on your steak without competing with it. Make this when you're firing up the grill for a serious dinner or treating yourself to a steakhouse night at home. It's the kind of drink that demands to be sipped slowly between bites.