"The inspiration for the cocktail was the experience of reading an old book by a fireplace, bringing together smoke, leather, tea, and brandy. I wanted to put a different geographic spin on “The French Connection” and reimagine it through literature focused on Spain, specifically William Gaddis’s “The Recognitions.” Brandy de Jerez is finished in sherry casks, making it a natural pairing for rich, nutty flavors and incorporating the regionality of the drink—Jerez is in Andalusia, which is the home of flamenco. In his book, Gaddis writes: “That's what it is, this arrogance, in this flamenco music this same arrogance of suffering, listen. The strength of it's what's so overpowering, the self-sufficiency that's so delicate and tender without an instant of sentimentality.” To me, the idea of “arrogance of suffering” romanticizes the lonely reader and the masculine image of smoking cigars in a leather chair while critiquing the irony of intellectualism. Flamenco Tears plays with the contrast between a melancholy reader and vibrant artistic expression; a literary dream that combines physical presence in a smoky, firelit room with a fantastical escapism to the south of Spain." —JS