The nose will betray you when you go in for a sip of the Mellow Yellow, one of the longest-running cocktails on the menu at Craigie on Main in Cambridge. It smells sickly sweet but turns out to be crisp and bright. Lead bartender Rob Ficks struck the perfect balance once he added apricot liqueur to round out the peppery bite of the herbal bitters Becherovka and the one-two punch of Henry McKenna bourbon and yellow chartreuse.

MELLOW YELLOW

Makes 1 cocktail

1½ ounces Henry McKenna bourbon

½ ounce Becherovka

½ ounce yellow chartreuse

¼ ounce Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot

1 dash Regan’s orange bitters

1 orange peel

1. In a mixing glass filled with ice, add the bourbon, Becherovka, chartreuse, apricot liqueur, and bitters. Stir well.

2. Strain into a chilled, double-rocks glass.

3. Twist orange peel to release a spritz of its oil over the drink. Adapted from Craigie on Main

James Reed can be reached at jreedwrites@gmail.com.