Name: Brooklyn's Finest
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 30 ml Cognac (brandy); 30 ml Rye whiskey 50% abv; 15 ml Vermouth amaro (Car.); 10 ml Falernum liqueur; 3 dash Aromatic bitters

Ingredients

1 fl oz

Cognac (brandy)

1 fl oz

Straight rye whiskey (100 proof /50% alc./vol.)

¹⁄₂ fl oz

Light vermouth amaro (e.g. Cardamaro)

¹⁄₃ fl oz

Falernum liqueur

3 dash

Angostura Aromatic Bitters

How to make

Glassware

Prepare

Select and pre-chill a NICK & NORA GLASS.

Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.

Method

STIR all ingredients with ice.

FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish

EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of Brooklyn's Finest contains 185 calories

Alcohol content:

1.8 standard drinks
28.47% alc./vol. (56.93° proof)
24.5 grams of pure alcohol

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Light vermouth amaro (e.g. Cardamaro) — Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Comments & Discussion

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Mike Premium Member 1y

Excellent drink and an interesting Manhattan riff. You get the same magic that Cognac, rye and vermouth bring to a Vieux Carrè but cardamaro and falernum bring something fresh. A good reason to buy a bottle of cardamaro

Ferand 1840 cognac, Wild Turkey 101 rye, John D Taylor falernum.

Caspian Berggren Premium Member 1y

Very well balanced cocktail. I really appreciate how the cognac and cardamaro keeps the cocktail from being too heavy yet always in the digestif realm. The zest from the falernum on the end is a nice touch, keeping you in the mood for another sip.

Caspian Berggren Premium Member 1y

I went back to this and I stand by my comment. Something I failed to mention is the genius of the amount of bitters. 3 bitters give exactly the right amount of spice to keep this drink in balance. It's not dry or heavy, but the spice reels in any amount of sweet that might swing the cocktail the other way.

Simon Sedgley Premium Member 1y

Delicate indeed. But we think that too much 'chill' dampens the complexity here. So we stir briefly with just a cube or two of ice and pour into a glass that is cool but not cold.

John CARR Premium Member 1y

Yes this one benefits from careful balancing. I had a lower proof rye soooo bumped it up to 37.5 ml but it overpowered its friends, so had to rebalance the whole thing. The more mellow Bitter truth aromatic bitters also worked in harmoniously here. Funnily enough, I appreciated an extra stir for added dilution here. Cheers!

John CARR Premium Member 1y

Very rich and fruity, piquant and tangy. I used courvoisier because it’s my favourite but would probably go with something like Martell next time to emphasise the unctuous texture.

John CARR Premium Member 1y

Yes, Martell much more mellow methinks.

Simon Sedgley Premium Member 1y

Yes, Martell VS is our go to Cognac. To us, lovely as it is, Corvoisier is too sharp for most cocktails.

John CARR Continue thread (1 reply)

michael Monaco 2y

It was ok.

Jeffrey Moore 2y

I think, given the spice & clove in the Falernum and then 3 whole dashes of Ango, the allspice & clove overpowers this drink. It strikes me more as a Vieux Carre riff. However, I'd use 2 oz of a high rye mashbill Rye in this one to stand up to all the clove. Dump the more elegant Cognac in this (and I love Cognac).

michael Monaco 2y

I think I agree with you.

Jerry Bryant 2y

Methinks this is a worthy scion of the Saratoga cocktail, by way of Brooklyn. The falernum elevates it to a drink over which one is happy to linger.

Herbert Brant 3y

Superb. Perfect for when you're craving something more interesting than the run-of-the-mill Manhattan or Rob Roy. I wanted to keep the darker tone to the drink, so I garnished with a Luxardo cherry.