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

September 13, 2026

Maelstrom

By Frederic Yarm (@fredericyarm)

This cocktail was created by Frederic Yarm (@fredericyarm) as a direct cross between Sother Teague’s Rough Seas and Brian Miller’s 2009 Death & Co. cocktail, the Gilda. It borrows Rough Seas’ equal split of cachaça and Jägermeister, then plugs it into the Gilda’s pineapple-cinnamon-lime framework. The result is a compact tropical sour with grassy funk, warm spice, and a bitter herbal undercurrent. The name also neatly continues the nautical imagery of Rough Seas.

Cachaça

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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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VodkaChartreuse

Sep 12, 2026Daniel Zajic

Buzz Sleepyear

This cocktail was created by me at the end of summer, when I had lemon-basil shrub left over from The Oaxacan Brat and wanted to find another use for it. The name is a play on Buzz Lightyear and the seasonal shift when many native bees begin overwintering. Honey carries that theme into the glass, while the shrub’s tart citrus and fresh basil meet Green Chartreuse’s deeper herbal notes beneath a soft egg-white foam. The result feels like one last warm-weather buzz before fall sets in.

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GinChartreuse

Sep 11, 2026Amanda Colom

Last Leaf

This cocktail was created by Amanda Colom (@bad_birdy), better known as Bad Birdy, as a pandan-driven riff on the Last Word. It begins with the classic’s four equal measures but replaces maraschino with pandan liqueur, then adds a little simple syrup and saline for balance. Pandan shifts the drink from cherry-almond territory toward vanilla, coconut, and fresh green aromatics, while Green Chartreuse adds an herbal edge.

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BourbonCognac

Sep 10, 2026Jordan Hughes

New Money Old Fashioned

This cocktail was created by Jordan Hughes (@highproofpreacher) as part of his Monday Old Fashioned series on Instagram. It keeps the classic spirit-sugar-bitters framework but splits the base between bourbon and Cognac and swaps plain sugar for orgeat, adding almond richness and a softer texture. Tiki bitters reinforce it with warm spice, while the split base brings both oak and dark-fruit depth. The name comes from Jordan's joke that someone with new money would probably keep plenty of Cognac and bourbon around, then mix them with a fancy French sweetener they cannot pronounce.

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Salted Banana Passionfruit Campari Gimlet

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GinCampari

Sep 9, 2026Isaiah LaBelle

Salted Banana Passionfruit Campari Gimlet

This cocktail was created by Isaiah LaBelle (@onesipclub), who sent it my way while deep into a Gimlet kick and experimenting with the classic template. I was immediately stoked to try it. Banana and passionfruit take the familiar gin-and-lime framework in a lush, tropical direction, while Campari adds just enough bitterness to keep the fruit in check. A heavy pinch of salt pulls everything into sharper focus. The full name is admittedly a mouthful, so Isaiah says SBPCG works just fine for short.

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RumAmaro

Sep 8, 2026Garrett Flick

Float Plane

This cocktail was created by Garrett Flick (@gee_flick) as a tropical riff on Sam Ross’s modern classic, the Paper Plane. It preserves the original’s equal-parts structure, with Heirloom Pineapple Amaro giving its bittersweet backbone a ripe tropical edge. Blended light rum brings a little funk, while lime keeps the drink bright and crisp. The name neatly carries the original’s aviation theme from folded paper to the water.

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