Anatomy of a Drink

Est. 2022

Anatomy professor by day.
Cocktail creator & photographer by night.

One cocktail · Every day

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Anatomy of a Drink✦One Cocktail Every Day✦Stirred✦Shaken✦Built✦Est. 2022✦Anatomy of a Drink✦Mezcal✦Calvados✦Rhum Agricole✦Japanese Whisky✦Tequila✦Bourbon✦Sherry✦Anatomy of a Drink✦One Cocktail Every Day✦Stirred✦Shaken✦Built✦Est. 2022✦Anatomy of a Drink✦Mezcal✦Calvados✦Rhum Agricole✦Japanese Whisky✦Tequila✦Bourbon✦Sherry✦

Daniel E. Zajic, Ph.D.

The Creator

Daniel E. Zajic

Ph.D. · Associate Professor of Health, Human Performance & Athletics

One cocktail, every day — where the science of flavor meets the craft of the bar.

Daniel teaches Human Anatomy & Physiology at Linfield University. A first-generation Czech-American and member of the LGBTQ+ community, he shares a new cocktail every day.

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Latest

November 8, 2026

Frozen in a Starry Void

By Reddit user u/xiaotiexia

This cocktail was created by Reddit user u/xiaotiexia and shared to r/cocktails in 2020. I found it while looking through a master list of Last Word riffs and equal-parts cocktails, and the combination was unusual enough that I had to try it. Rye gives it a dry, spicy base, but the allspice dram is the real star, bringing a heavy dose of baking spice alongside the maraschino and lime. It drinks richer and spicier than most Last Word variations. The name also appears to come from a line in MGMT’s “Siberian Breaks.”

Rye Whiskey

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Mezcal✦Calvados✦Rye Whiskey✦Tequila✦Rhum Agricole✦Bourbon✦Japanese Whisky✦Gin✦Scotch✦Rum✦Sherry✦Amaro✦Vermouth✦Cachaça✦Mezcal✦Calvados✦Rye Whiskey✦Tequila✦Rhum Agricole✦Bourbon✦Japanese Whisky✦Gin✦Scotch✦Rum✦Sherry✦Amaro✦Vermouth✦Cachaça✦

Recent

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RumCampari

Nov 7, 2026Michael McIlroy

Right Hand

This cocktail was created by Michael McIlroy (@attaboy_mcilroy) at Milk & Honey in New York City around 2005 as the companion to Sam Ross’s Left Hand. The structure is nearly identical, but aged rum replaces bourbon and an orange twist takes the place of the cherry. Both drinks were part of Milk & Honey’s “Hand” family and made use of the then-new Bittermens mole bitters. The rum brings caramel, tropical fruit, and spice, while the bitters pull everything toward cocoa and warm baking spice. If the Left Hand is a chocolate-accented Boulevardier, the Right Hand is its richer rum-based counterpart.

Adam's Words

This cocktail was created by Oslo cocktail enthusiast Fransos (@fransos) in 2012 as a tribute to Adam “MCA” Yauch of the Beastie Boys. It is an equal-parts Last Word riff that replaces gin with Smith & Cross and maraschino with ginger liqueur. The high-proof Jamaican rum gives it plenty of funk, while the ginger brings some heat against the sharp lime and herbal Chartreuse. It is loud, spicy, and a fitting tribute to MCA.

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MezcalAperol

Nov 5, 2026Zack Gelnaw-Rubin

Naked in the Rain

This cocktail was created by Zack Gelnaw-Rubin (@zgrcocktails) at Attaboy in New York City in 2024. After several guests asked for something along the lines of a Naked & Famous, Zack replaced the Yellow Chartreuse with Giffard Elderflower liqueur, a substitution he said worked on the first try. The name continues the musical connection behind the original, borrowing its title from “Naked in the Rain” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I used St-Germain because that was what I had on hand. It takes the Naked and Famous in a softer, more floral direction while keeping the smoky, bittersweet, and tart structure of the original. I've shared the Mezcal Little Wing, which is the same drink except with cucumber slices added.

Left Hand

This cocktail was created by Sam Ross (@samueljoelross) at Milk & Honey in New York City around 2005. It is often described as a Boulevardier with chocolate bitters, although Ross has said they were not familiar with the Boulevardier at the time. He thought of it as a cross between a Negroni and a Manhattan. He created it to showcase a new batch of chocolate bitters from Bittermens (Xocolatl Mole). The chocolate, cinnamon, and spice fit naturally alongside the bourbon and Campari, while the cherry brings out the drink’s darker fruit notes.

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CognacMezcal

Nov 3, 2026Frederic Yarm

Papa Was A Rodeo

This cocktail was created by Frederic Yarm (@fredericyarm) in Somerville, Massachusetts, in 2024. After writing about the Water Line, he wanted to keep exploring the combination of Cynar and orange liqueur. He then paired it with the Cognac, mezcal, and Peychaud’s structure of the 1910 Cocktail. The name came from “Papa Was a Rodeo” by The Magnetic Fields, which happened to play while he was working on the drink. Cognac brings fruit and oak, mezcal adds smoke and earth, and the Cynar and curaçao meet in a bittersweet mix of herbs and orange.

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