Guys, I am so excited about this cocktail. This is officially my first cocktail recipe that is on an actual cocktail menu. You can go to Darwin’s Ltd. in Cambridge and order a Mr. Fancypants. And they won’t look at you like you’re crazy! Despite the silly name I gave it.
Darwin’s Ltd. is a chain of cafes in Cambridge that I’ve been a fan of for a long time. Their location near Harvard was my go-to for lattes and lunch during my postdoc. The Mt. Auburn Street location is a good place to pick up a bottle of wine or some craft beer. But their location on Massachusetts Avenue actually serves wine, beer, and cocktails. They have a cordials license, which is a weird Massachusetts thing – they can’t serve hard liquor like straight whiskey, gin, rum, or vodka, but they can serve liqueurs. And there are a lot of great drinks you can make with just liqueurs!
The Mr. Fancypants is a riff on the Boulevardier, one of my favorite cocktails. That’s the reason for the name – “boulevardier” basically refers to a fashionable, wealthy person, a man-about-town. The evening I was working on the cocktail, my husband was trying on some new clothes he had ordered, and the prints he had chosen were a bit flashier than what he usually wears. I said, “Look at you, Mr. Fancypants,” and that was that.
The base of this cocktail is a spiced rum that is a-ok for a cordials license, and it also contains some of Darwin’s spectacular cold brew coffee. If you want to make it at home and don’t have spiced rum, try substituting an aged rum. Apple brandy is also excellent.
But if you live in the Boston area, please go check out Darwin’s and order one!! I love spots where you can order a drink and work on your laptop or linger with a book, and Darwin’s is absolutely perfect for that. They serve wine, beer, and cocktails all day in addition to tons of tasty food and some of the best coffee in town.
Mr. Fancypants
3/4 oz. spiced rum
3/4 oz. sweet vermouth
3/4 oz. Campari
3/4 oz. cold brew coffee
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice and garnish with an orange twist. Aren’t you fancy!