No esoterica, just perfect balance

The Algonquin

This is a keeper. No esoteric ingredients. Everything easily accessible. We didn't need to make any substitutions. Just a perfect balance of flavor and fragrance.

The rye provides a nice background spiciness. The vermouth is fragrant but dry, and the pineapple smooths it out without making it cloyingly sweet.

The recipe:
1 jigger rye (I used Redemption Rye)
1/2 jigger dry vermouth (I used Noilly Pratt)
1/2 jigger pineapple juice

There is a variation which adds a dash of peach bitters and then it's called a Queen Anne. Now, I don't have official "peach bitters" but I canned peaches last year and put the peach pits, skins and clinging peach bits in vodka for a couple months. So I put in a dash of that. DH didn't like it that way - he didn't like the peach "aftertaste". I liked it though.

I also made a second cocktail with Old Overholt Rye. It wasn't as good. I was surprised at the difference it made. The pineapple was more pronounced, the vermouth less, and there was less spiciness.