Junior League

It's less important which whiskey you choose when you use a large portion of anisette in a cocktail. Blended whiskey (often understood as Irish whiskey) is as good an option as any. The point is that it gets out of the way and allows you to inexpensively up the volume and alcohol content of a drink with a distinctive flavor. 

Anisette, as I understand it, is a sweetened anise liqueur. It comes in strong or sugary varieties: the strong anisettes are absinthe substitutes that get cloudy when they touch water while the sugary ones are more like cordials, less bitter and more like anise candy than licorice. Both are sweet, but the sweeter Aguardiente from Columbia is a lower proof and very sweet sugar-based liqueur. It is a good choice for a cocktail in which you don't want to overwhelm with anise. 

This recipe is designed for new drinkers. It shouldn't offend with herbal bitterness or alcoholic burn, and it doesn't. I like how I could taste the sherry barreling of the Slane Irish whiskey under the prickle of Aguardiente. The drink was slightly sweet with a cinnamon-like burn. I feel that this cocktail is a classy antidote to Fireball.      

• 1 1/2 oz. blended whiskey (Slane Irish whiskey used)
• 1 oz. anisette (Aguardiente used)
• maraschino cherry garnish

Combine liquors in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with the cherry.