Brightest Young Things

I'm bringing you nothing but Satan for the next three days on this column! Satan in drinking form, that is.

Black Devil

• 2 oz light rum
• 1/2 oz sweet vermouth
• Black olive

Stir in a mixing glass with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Add a black olive.

OK. When I saw this I thought "shouldn't it be 'white devil'?" When I drank this I thought "this should never have been invented." The black olive makes it a grayish color and the salt from said olive just makes it confusing. Some people call this the Black Devil Martini, but I had a hard time wrapping my brain around a rum martini. In any case, this drink doesn't know what it wants to be. The rum screams "add some mint and it's a latin fiesta!' The vermouth says "I am so much better than this. Why am I here?" And the olive is out of place. In short, you have three disparate tastes and nothing adds up. Skip the Black Devil.