New-ish Cocktails: the Duboudreau

I stumbled upon this drink in the same way as Fred Yarm - flipping through the PDT Cocktail Book hoping to find something that looked good. This is a reimagining of Jamie Boudreau's Cooper Cocktail from Vessel in Seattle in the late-2000s during the first phase of the cocktail renaissance. It has all the features of the time - rediscovered ingredients like bonded rye whiskey and Fernet Branca alongside new ones like St. Germain. The spin takes it in a more Manhattan-y direction with aromatized wine.

Duboudreau Cocktail

2 oz rye whiskey

0.75 oz quinquina
0.25 oz St. Germain
0.25 oz Fernet

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice for fifteen seconds, then strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with a lemon twist.

The aroma leads with a big wallop of mint from the Fernet, plus herbal rye and a touch of grapefruit peeking out from behind. The sip opens fairly sweetly between the St. Germain and Punt e Mes, sliding into bittersweet rye in the middle and complex bitterness further back . The finish is balanced between continued bitterness from the vermouth and Fernet, oak tannins from the whiskey, and a soft grape-iness.

What a drink. At first sip I wasn't sure if this was going to work, but it manages to come together in a delightful fashion. Equally astounding, the robust flavors of the minor ingredients manage to keep this from feeling overwhelmingly alcoholic, which is quite an accomplishment with so much bonded rye. While definitely not a drink for the faint of heart, if you have everything on hand it makes for quite an adventure.

New Cocktails: the Right Boulevard

While I haven't been drinking a whole lot lately, I still enjoy a cocktail now and then. While flipping through The Art of the Shim once again, I remembered how much I enjoyed the Boulevardier 1934. But let's see what happens when we give it a rhum-y spin.

The Right Boulevard

1 oz Cocchi di Torino
1 oz Cocchi Americano
0.5 oz Bruto Americano
0.5 oz aged rhum agricole

Combine all ingredients, stir on ice for fifteen seconds, then strain into a chilled coupe.

The aromas are rather shy until the drink warms up a bit, with vanilla from the vermouth leading the way followed by citrus from the Americanos and a touch of agricole grassiness/brandy. The sip opens with sweet citrus (especially grapefruit), some red bitter in the middle, fading out through classic agricole flavors. The finish is a melange of thick bittersweetness, pine, grass, brandy, and grapefruit pith.

As I suggested in my previous post, the basic form of this drink seems very amenable to modification. While my initial thought had been to drag it back into more classic territory with some rye whiskey, a bottle of Clément VSOP caught my eye. From there Bruto Americano seemed like a solid accompaniment to bring it in a more herbal direction compared to Campari. While this ended up a bit sweeter than I was envisioning, my wife declared it the best cocktail I've ever made so I'm not about to dismiss it.

New Cocktails: the Gioiello

I was in the mood for something bitter and stirred this evening. That led me to the Tailspin from Dr Bamboo's old blog. While I liked the look, the scale and sweetness gave me pause. A bit more research landed me on Imbibe's version of the Bijou, which looked promising with more emphasis on the gin. But I still wasn't sure about, so I decided to cut the proportions in half to reduce the load on my liver and replace the sweet vermouth with an Italian fortified wine.

Gioiello

0.75 oz gin

0.5 oz Cocchi Americano
0.4 oz green Chartreuse
1 dash orange bitters

The aromas lead with intense herbal notes from the Chartreuse, slightly leavened by juniper and citrus. The sip opens with syrupy sweet herbs, slides through grape from the vermouth, and goes into the finish with a burst of black pepper and juniper from the gin. The finish is once again focused on the Chartreuse, dueling with black pepper, orange peel, and juniper.

While I like this drink, I can see two potential directions to take it. One is to amp up the bitterness by splitting the Cocchi with a dry vermouth. Another is to nudge it in a sour direction with a teaspoon or so of lemon juice. Both would rein in the syrupy character while leaving the fundamental profile of the drink largely intact.

Classic Cocktails: the Boulevardier 1934/1929

Yet another drink taken from The Art of the Shim, the history has since been updated to show that its provenance reaches even further back. While in general form this has similarities to the more classic whiskey-based Bouldevardier from 1927, it takes a rather different and softer approach.

Boulevardier 1934/1929

1 oz Dubonnet (sub Punt e Mes)
1 oz kina (Cocchi Americano)
0.5 oz Campari
0.5 oz cognac

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice for fifteen seconds, then double strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

The aromas start off rather closed, but open up as the drink warms. There's a lovely melange of dark raisins, grapefruit, cognac, raspberries, and some dry bitter notes. The sip opens rather sweetly with a bit of a syrupy feel, some grape and raspberry notes right behind, then slides into an unfolding array of gentle bitterness ranging from the dry quinine and wormwood notes to the slightly more astringent Campari. The finish is pleasantly bitter, drawing from the wines and Campari in roughly equal measure, with just enough residual sweetness to keep it from being too much.

As with many drinks in this book, it helps a lot to adjust your expectations. Initially this comes off somewhat like a cold glass of vermouth, but as it sits and warms the other ingredients make themselves known and add complexity. While this won't have the punch of a more spirit-driven cocktail, there's absolutely no lack of flavor here. The form also offers some interesting room to play since I think you could swap the cognac for something like rye or apple brandy to put a new twist on it. Alternatively, swapping the Campari for a different red bitter will dial the overall bitterness up or down.

New Cocktails: the Chartreuse Daiquiri, Two Ways

Hey there, long time no see. As the lack of posting might suggest, I haven't been drinking a ton this year, but inspiration struck recently. The hot PNW weather made me hanker for a daiquiri, but I wanted something a bit more interesting than the standard formula. So why not punch it up a bit with some Chartreuse?

Chartreuse Daiquiri #1

1.5 oz rum
0.25 oz green Chartreuse
0.75 oz lime juice
0.5 oz rich simple syrup

Combine all ingredients, shake with ice, then double strain into a chilled couple.

The aromas are balanced between herbal notes from the Chartreuse and a rounded rummy-ness with a hint of lime. The sip begins sweetly with balanced lime acidity, then opens up into gentle herbal notes and leads into the finish with a touch of rum. The finish is pleasantly tart with fading Chartreuse.

While this is good, it feels like it's missing something. I think it would work better with a more assertive rum, while the Hamilton White Stache I used is a bit too soft in this application. A funkier rum like Probitas or a grassy blanc agricole might play better. With that said, I wouldn't turn this down if served.

Chartreuse Daiquiri #2

1.5 oz rum
0.5 oz green Chartreuse
0.75 oz lime juice
0.5 oz rich simple syrup

Combine all ingredients, shake with ice, then double strain into a chilled couple.

The aromas are dominated by the green Chartreuse's herbs, with a touch of lime. The sip opens with sweet rum, quickly joined by gentle lime, then seguing through a burst of slightly bitter herbs at the back. The finish continues the herbal theme with lime pith. The mouthfeel is pleasantly thick throughout between the syrup and liqueur.

Wow, what a drink. You have to really like Chartreuse for this to work since it dominates most of the experience, but it's still mellowed significantly by the rum. It obviously makes nods to the Last Word, albeit in a less complex fashion without juniper or maraschino. Dangerously drinkable, especially on a hot day.

Classic Cocktails: the Caprice

I knew I wanted something stirred, but couldn't quite decide on what. Thankfully my bookshelf overflows. This comes from the book The How & When  published in 1937 by Gale and Marco by way of The PDT Cocktail Book.

Caprice

1.5 oz gin
1.5 oz dry vermouth
0.5 oz Bénédictine
1 dash orange bitters

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice, then strain into a chilled coupe.

The aromas are dominated from the gin's florals (in this case Hendrick's Midsummer) and herbal Bénédictine notes. The sip opens with floral honey, then fades into gentle bitterness at the back. The finish is dominated by the dry vermouth and lingering gin florals.

That is a pretty dang good drink. Contra some other recipes I've seen that take it in more of an accented Martini direction, this is very wet and almost sweet. While that suits my taste since I've never been particularly fond of dry Martinis, it does constitute a significant departure. Though I quite like it, I think a less floral gin might have been called for here since the aromas were nearly soapy. On the other hand the flavors felt much more integrated, so if your primary purpose is drinking it might not be such a bad direction. Overall, a solid one to add to your arsenal.

Classic Cocktails: the Old Pal

Another in the annals of lesser known siblings of more famous cocktails, the Old Pal is a clear riff on the Boulevardier that didn't quite make it into the big leagues. First printed in Harry McElhone’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails, it dries out the more well-known version while retaining the same basic proportions.

Old Pal

1.25 oz rye whiskey

1 oz dry vermouth
1 oz Campari

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice for fifteen seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

The aromas lead with sweet fruit from the Campari, vegetal spices from the rye, and lemon from the garnish. The sip opens with big Campari and rye sweetness up front, gets rather fruity in the middle, then fades out through dry vermouth and prickly rye spices. The finish is rather dry from the vermouth and Campari bitterness, gently accented by the rye.

Is there a Negroni/Boulevardier style drink that isn't good? If there is, I haven't found it yet. This one is another win and possibly one of the first published references to Campari in a cocktail recipe (according to Old Man Drinks). I can also see this working with Bruto Americano if you want to lean into the rye or Luxardo Bitter if you want to take it in a sweeter vanilla direction. You could also soften it with blanc vermouth instead of dry, but that would be a more radical change to the profile and bring it back somewhere closer to a rye Boulevardier. However you choose to construct it, this is clearly a winner.

Classic Cocktails: the Brooklyn

This is one of the classics, even if it hasn't achieved the fame of its across the river cousin. It's original form may have been closer since there appears to have been a misprint at some point, swapping what used to be sweet vermouth for dry. But given the way this is constructed, that may be for the best.

The Brooklyn Cocktail

2 oz rye whiskey

0.75 oz dry vermouth

2 tsp Amer Picon (sub Bigallet China-China Amer)
2 tsp maraschino liqueur

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice for fifteen seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry.

The aromas are very expressive, blending rye grain, vanilla, herbal notes, and orange peel. The sip begins with rye, orange, and maraschino sweetness, takes a dip into bittersweet as the vermouth comes to the fore, then fades out through maraschino. The finish is complexly bitter with dry rye, herbal notes from the vermouth, orange peel, and drying spices.

I have to admit that this is a drier drink than I usually prefer, but I can really see the appeal. Modifying the basic combination of rye and vermouth with touches of liqueur ups the sweetness just enough and adds a huge amount of complexity. This is also a good place to play around with orange-forward armaro. While the Bigallet is good, I can see this going in a darker direction with something like Ramazzotti.

New Cocktails: Artemisia

I started out once again paging through The Art of the Shim for something on the lighter side. My first stop was the Chrysanthemum, originally from the Savoy Cocktail Book. The version in Shim is quite a bit drier at 8:1 vermouth:Bénédictine and while rather good, I felt like it was lacking something. My initial thought was "This needs some gin" and I proceeded to make another with a full ounce of gin and a bit more Bénédictine. While that was closer to the mark, the gin was a little too assertive and was throwing the drink out of balance. The third time was the charm and scaling the gin back made it just right.

Artemisia

2 oz dry vermouth
0.75 oz gin
0.5 oz Bénédictine

3 dashes of absinthe/pastis

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice for fifteen seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

The aromas are dominated by the anise from the Herbsaint, alongside some rounded herbal notes from the Bénédictine. The sip opens with honey sweetness, quickly fading into herbal/pine bitterness from the Bénédictine and gin, there's a burst of something fruity, then sliding towards more tart dryness from the vermouth. The finish is long and driven by the vermouth, with herbal accents.

Now this hits the spot. While there were good things about the original, they really depended on the quality and complexity of the dry vermouth. Something unidimensional just wasn't going to give a particularly engaging drink. But the added depth from more Bénédictine and a solid dose of gin elevates this into something I can really get behind. 

Looking back at what's come before, I'm a little surprised that I haven't seen these proportions elsewhere. It basically inverts the proportions of the Poet's Dream and probably has a balance somewhere around the Guion. But I'll keep beating my drum for reverse proportion cocktails, even if, as with this drink, they're not necessarily any less potent than their more spirit-forward relatives.

New Cocktails: Rhum Agricole Punch

 I was poking through my old cocktail recipe bookmarks when I stumbled upon this gem from roughly a decade ago, courtesy of the long defunct Antifogmatic League, who got it from the also defunct Heaven's Dog bar in SF. Thankfully one of the bartenders had chimed in in the comments to note that the proportions were almost exactly correct, so off we go.

Rhum Agricole Punch

2 oz rhum agricole

1 oz lime juice

0.5 oz cane syrup

0.25 oz allspice dram

1 dash Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients, shake with ice, then strain into a glass with fresh ice and grate nutmeg on top.

The aromas are dominated by the nutmeg, with a bit of allspice and lime peeking through. The sip begins with spicy sweetness, passes through bright lime, then fades through grassy rhum into a dry woody finish. The finish has long bittersweet lime with a touch of woody spice from the Angostura and allspice.

This take on the Lion's Tail/Jasper's Jamaican formula works really well. It has enough complex to keep it from being boring, but it can also just be a pleasant long drink to sip on a warm day.

The character will depend a lot on your choice of rhum. Since I didn't have any higher proof aged rhum open at the moment, I had to go with the mellower and lower proof Rhum J.M. V.O. This produces a subtle drink where it slides in between the other components rather than putting itself front and center. A heftier 100-proof agricole will obviously give you a bigger, bolder drink, so pick your poison. Either choice is going to be good.

New Cocktails: the Apricot Sour

I've had this one bouncing around in my head for a few years ever since I picked up a bottle of Luxardo's apricot liqueur. Compared to something like Rothman & Winter, it leans more towards apricot pits than it does the fresh fruit. It immediately made me think of amaretto, which can be made from stone fruit pits.

That in turn made me think of Jeffery Morgenthaler's much-lauded Amaretto Sour recipe. I've taken a crack at the form once before with success, so I wondered if I could make it work again.

Apricot Sour

1.5 oz apricot liqueur

0.75 oz Laird's bonded applejack

1 oz lemon juice

1 tsp rich simple syrup

Combine all ingredients, shake with ice, then strain into a rocks glass over ice.

The aromas are dominated by nutty notes from the apricot liqueur, accented by spices from the apple brandy. The sip opens with apricot and apple sweetness, tempered by the heat of the Lairds, dives through some gentle oak in the middle, then fading out through sweet lemon. The finish is bittersweet lemon and apricot with gentle spices.

Dang, that is a good drink. I had a feeling that it was going to work out if I stuck with Morgenthaler's ratios, but I wasn't entirely sure what high proof spirit to use to keep things in check. Laird's is on the woody side for an apple brandy, so the oak helps to keep this from becoming cloying. In addition the apple notes blend naturally with the apricot, which I'm not sure grain based spirits would have worked as well. While it would be interesting to try this drink with other apricot liqueurs, I think Luxardo works well here since it is a little more multifaceted than more straightforward varieties.

New Cocktails: Don's Daiquiri

Looking over Don the Beachcomber's ouvre, one of his most common touches was the combination of a dash of Angostura bitters with half a dozen drops of absinthe or pastis. While rarely assertive, they always make for a pleasant accent. Last summer I wondered if it had ever been applied to the basic daiquiri formula. While I've searched long and hard for another name for this drink, I've never been able to find anything with the same specs. The closest is the Rum Club Daiquiri, though that takes it in a different direction.

Don's Daiquiri

1.5 oz white rum (I used Hamilton White Stache)

0.5 oz blanc rhum agricole

0.5 oz lime juice

0.5 oz simple syrup

1 dash Angostura bitters

6 drops of absinthe/pastis

Combine all ingredients, shake with ice, then double strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

The aromas have a good fruity/grassy balance between the rums, plus a touch of Angostura bitters. The sip is very fruity up front, moving into grassy notes in the middle, then faint licorice with a sweet lime fade out. The finish has sweet lime, a touch of bitters and grass, and lingering anise.

This is just lovely. As hoped, it's a nice twist on the basic formula. The rums played well with each other, providing a solid foundation for the gentle accents. While it doesn't have the flourishes of a full-on tiki drink, I appreciate the way it nods at the broader realm while staying firmly in the realm of the classics.

New Cocktails: the Improved Amargo Cocktail

I realized a while ago that it has been a long time since I last had a tequila cocktail. I also recently purchased a bottle of Sfumato and had been looking for something to do with it. Making a guess that I could slot it into a drink that called for Campari, I went poking around until I found the Amargo Cocktail, which comes from the Wisconsin restaurant Harvest. While I was a little skeptical of something so citrus-heavy without any sweeteners beyond the Campari, I was willing to give it a shot.

Improved Amargo Cocktail

0.75 oz tequila (preferably blanco)
0.25 oz mezcal
1 oz Sfumato
0.5 oz lime juice
2 oz grapefruit juice

0.25 oz apricot liqueur

Combine all ingredients, shake with ice, then double strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

The nose is driven by the smoky/fruity notes of the Sfumato, with a little mezcal poking out. The sip begins fairly tart with some balancing sweetness, flashes through some berries/fruit, dives into the Sfumato and mezcal smoke in the middle, then shifts into bittersweet near the back. The finish is tart and gently bitter, with a little herbal complexity.

I tried this without the apricot liqueur first and found it far too tart. The apricot liqueur rounds off the sharper edges without making itself particularly present in the overall profile, which is what I was looking for. With that said, I really like the way this drink evolves. I takes a lot of pretty strong flavors and manages to showcase them in turn rather than throwing them at your taste buds all at once. Overall, very enjoyable.

Classic Cocktails: Reverse Perfect El Presidente

I've enjoyed the classic El Presidente before and was inspired to give it the reverse perfect treatment when I saw it come up on a list of blanc vermouth cocktails from Imbibe. While my original version was all dry vermouth and called for a larger slug of orange liqueur, this version was able to reduce it by adding in some sweeter blanc vermouth instead of just dry.

 

Reverse Perfect El Presidente

 

1 oz blanc vermouth

1 oz dry vermouth

0.5 rum (I split it between blanc agricole and a rounder molasses based rum)

1 tsp orange liqueur

1 tstp raspberry syrup

 

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice for fifteen seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

 

The aromas are heady with vermouth inflected with raspberry, orange, and rum. The flavors open with vermouth and rum sweetness, shifts to big berry notes in the middle, then slides into pleasant orange bitterness at the back. The finish is bittersweet, fruity, and has a touch of grassy cane.

Dang, this is really, really good. There's a lot of complexity and no one ingredient overwhelms any other. Using flavorful rums (in this case Rhum J.M. 110 and Hamilton White Stache) does help to keep them from getting lost, so it's still clearly a rum-based drink. If you're not a fan of dry vermouth (looking at you, RumDood) I think you could use all blanc and keep it in balance by adding a dash of orange bitters. But whatever direction you choose to take it in, this continues to solidify my faith in the reverse perfect formula. This just keeps producing great drinks.

New Cocktails: Hello Stranger

While I've been getting a lot of my drinks from the Art of the Shim lately, I've had my eye out for other vermouth-based cocktails. This one, care of Imbibe, caught my eye in its simplicity and relatively low ABV profile.

 

Hello Stranger

 

2 oz sweet vermouth

0.25 oz brandy

0.25 oz passion fruit syrup

 

Combine all ingredients in a glass with crushed ice, swizzle, then optionally garnish with lemon wheels and sprigs of fresh thyme.

 

The nose has big grape notes from the vermouth and brandy with some passion fruit peeking around the edges. The sip begins sweetly with passion fruit and brandy plus some nice floral notes, then flows into grapes and quinine bitterness at the back. The finish is relatively dry and woody, driven by the vermouth.

Much like the Rhum Dandy Shim, this feels like a drink best suited for summer. It's nice and refreshing without being at all tepid. I do wish I had gone with the optional garnish since I think a touch of lemon would have helped brighten it up, but it doesn't feel out of balance without. 

 

Using Punt e Mes instead of Miró Rojo gave the drink something of a darker cast. But I happen to like bitter drinks so this still hits the spot. The recommendation of a Spanish sweet vermouth makes sense as I tend to find them a little bit simpler, so something like my go-to Cocchi di Torino might have had a bit too much going on and muscled out the other ingredients. A more workable twist might be Lustau Rojo, which has a similar profile to the Miró, but adds in some savory notes that could play well against the brandy.

New Cocktails: Rum Dandy Shim

After a bunch of stirred drinks lately, I eventually went looking for a good sour. This one also comes from The Art of the Shim and was originally produced by Craig Lane of the late Bar Agricole. While calling for sweet vermouth, I decided to take it in a different direction by using blanc instead.

 

Rum Dandy Shim

 

1 oz sweet vermouth (I used blanc)

0.5 oz rhum agricole blanc

0.5 oz lime juice

1 tsp cane syrup

2 dashes absinthe

 

Combine all ingredients in a glass half filled with crushed ice, stir briefly to combine, then top with more crushed ice and garnish with lime zest.

 

The aromas are a little muted by all the crushed ice, but I still get lovely notes of rhum and lime. The sip begins sweetly with cane juice and lime, grassy blanc rhum notes rise in the middle, then it becomes bittersweet with cane and vermouth. The finish is driven by the lime and grape notes from the rhum and vermouth.

The weather isn't exactly appropriate for this kind of drink, but I can imagine it will hit the spot even better in the summer. I really like how this takes the basic daiquiri mold and flips it around to produce a drink with almost the same intensity of flavors but much less alcohol. A lot has to be handed to the rhum agricole, which is pretty much the star wherever it goes. I did tip the balance a bit by using the rather potent Rhum J.M. 110, but I think this would still be great with something lighter. If you want to ease back even more, an aged agricole would probably mesh more with a true sweet vermouth instead of brashly pushing the blanc I used aside.

New Cocktails: Apparent Sour

This variation on the Aperol Sour by created by Bobby Heugel of Anvil in 2010. I got it out The Art of the Shim while trying to find a use for some leftover lime juice. While I was a little skeptical of the recipe, I decided to go for it anyway.

Apparent Sour

 

2 oz Aperol

0.75 oz lime juice

0.75 oz elderflower liqueur

 

Combine all ingredients, shake with ice, then strain into a chilled glass and optionally garnish with a spring of rosemary.

 

The aromas are driven by the St. Germain with a bit of extra fruit from the Aperol. The flavors begin with big, round sweetness balanced by lime up front, adult Tropical Fruit Punch in the middle, then surprisingly bitter going into the back. The finish has a pleasant lingering bitterness, some roundness from the St. Germain, and lime peel.

 

This is just so, so nice. As with the Reverse Perfect Man o' War it looked too sweet from the recipe, but never strayed too far in that direction. It was also surprisingly complex for being all of three ingredients with the two liqueurs showing off their best sides while being kept in check by the lime juice. While a solid aperitif as written, I can also imagine this being great built over ice, especially when it's warm.

New Cocktails: Reverse Invitation

In my continued exploration of lower proof cocktails, I stumbled upon Collin Nicholas's Invitation via Imbibe. I like that it began as a split base drink, softening the usually brisk Martini format. This made it very amenable to my now standard reverse perfect format.

 

Reverse Invitation

1 oz dry vermouth

1 oz blanc vermouth

1 oz gin

3 dashes Peychaud's bitters

6 drops absinthe

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice for fifteen seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

The aromas are dominated by the licorice of the bitters and Herbsaint, backed up by the dry vermouth and a pleasant citrus note (maybe a good reason to add a lemon twist?). The sip begins balanced between sweet and sour from the vermouths, transitions through and herbal burst of licorice in the middle, which fades into complex bitterness led by the gin. The finish is fairly light and driven by the dry vermouth with a thread of Peychauds.

I have historically found Martini-style drinks to be too bracing, but this really hits the spot. Maybe once I'm back to having full strength drinks this will seem kind of tepid, but right now it does exactly what I want it to do. I was also pleasantly surprised by how well the various licorice-driven ingredients fit into the drink since I often find them overbearing. All in all I would highly recommend this drink in either form.

New Cocktails: Reverse Perfect Man o' War

After making pasta for dinner, I found myself with a mostly bare lemon that really needed to be used up. While I found a few good suggestions for pairing it with vermouth, none of them were speaking to me until I found the Man o' War cocktail. Named after a champion race horse, it takes the classic proportions of a Manhattan and accents them with balanced amounts of orange liqueur and lemon juice. Looked at another way, it's simply a Derby that uses lemon juice instead of lime. However, as written, it just looked like more alcohol than I want to be consuming right now, so I wondered if I could flip things around to make a less potent but still tasty drink.

Reverse Perfect Man o' War

 

1 oz  sweet vermouth

1 oz dry vermouth

1 oz orange liqueur

0.5 oz rye whiskey

0.5 oz lemon juice

Combine all ingredients, shake with ice, then strain into a double old fashioned glass filled with ice. Garnish with maraschino cherries if desired.

The aromas are driven by the sweet vermouth, accented with dry vermouth, lemon, and a touch of orange. The sip opens bittersweetly with vermouth, lemon and orange dancing around each other, shifting towards herbal notes in the middle. The finish opens with rye spice and grain, then shifts into tart dry vermouth and lemon.

Wow, this is a great drink. I've had really good luck with the reverse perfect formula for stirred drinks, but I wasn't sure if it would work for a shaken drink. This does exactly what I wanted it to do - provide a lot of engaging complexity without straying too far in any one direction. For all the sweet ingredients the dry vermouth and lemon keep them in balance. The one change I'd make next time is to serve it up rather than on the rocks. While I think it makes for a refreshing warm weather drink on ice, it does compromise the complexity a bit.

Classic Cocktails: Reverse Perfect Manhattan

The Manhattan is one of the Ur-classics of the cocktail world - its simple ingredients and proportions encapsulate the late-19th and early-20th century drinks zeigeist in the same way as the Martini. One of the earlier variations was the Perfect Manhattan, using a split of both sweet and dry vermouth to take some of the sweetness out of the drink for those with a drier palate. The Reverse Manhattan (or, perhaps, the Original Manhattan) performs another flip by inverting the proportions to more vermouth than whiskey.

Inspired by an article from Kara Newman and my current search for low(er)-alcohol cocktails, I wondered what would happen if the two variations were put together. Especially with big, flavorful vermouths like Cocchi di Torino, I could imagine the whiskey getting lost. But with a slug of lighter, less rich dry vermouth to keep things in check, maybe the results could be even better. The Diplomat had a similar split of dry and sweet vermouths, though in that case the sweet was acting more as a flavoring agent like the gin in a Reverse Martini. 

 

Perfect Reverse Manhattan

 

0.75 oz dry vermouth

0.75 oz sweet vermouth

0.5 oz American whiskey

2 dashes Angostura bitters

 

Combine all ingredients, stir with ice for fifteen seconds, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with several cocktail cherries and a smidge of syrup.

 

The aromas are driven by the dry vermouth and inflected with rye spice and grain plus a little roundness from the sweet vermouth and cherries. The sip begins with vermouth and cherry sweetness, sliding through dry vermouth tartness into pleasant bitterness and rye spice towards the back. The finish is Angostura and vermouth bitterness plus a bit of grape roundness in the background.

This turned out exactly the way I hoped it would, with the various components in pleasant balance. Looking at the structure there are a few ways to adjust it to your preferences - the ratios of the vermouths can be tweaked to make it sweeter or drier and differing amounts of syrup can be added with the cherries to provide a different kind of sweetness. However you choose to make it, this is a full-flavored drink with less of a punch to the liver.