COMPASS COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH

    When asked how long he has been in the bartending business, fM's Mike Armstrong replies "forever". "My father had me making martinis when I was 5. I could make it with onions or olives," says the Wyoming native, who first arrived in Taiwan in 1993 and has since tended bar at Taichung establishments like Escapade, Frog I, Harley, Napoli, Riverside, Salt & Pepper, and Underworld, not to mention other stints in Australia, Hawaii and Washington, D.C.

This month, Mike is introducing a drink that he was introduced to recently and instantly fell in love with--The Turnover. With a little innovation to make up for limited local ingredients, he has come up with the "fM Turnover", a delicious shot that tastes a bit like an apple turnover, he says, with the flavors of lime, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. The slightly woody, apple flavors come from his use of Skyy Vodka (from San Francisco), which fM recently launched in Taichung and is now its house vodka. Mike predicts The Turnover will gain quick popularity in Taiwan: "It's something that men and women can drink and like. It's not feminine, not masculine. It has universal appeal."

Ingredients:
1 ounce vodka
1/2 ounce vanilla liqueur (i.e. Marie Brizard Vanille De Madagascar)
lemon slices, sugar, cinnamon powder
Shake vodka and vanilla liqueur with ice and pour into a shot glass. Coat lemon slice on one side with sugar and on other side with cinnamon. Drink it like a tequila shot: Down the shot and then take a bite of the lemon