Name: Day La Vie
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 30 ml Amaro; 20 ml Rye whiskey 50% abv; 20 ml Gentian liqueur; 10 ml Bourbon whiskey; 20 ml Lemon juice

Day La Vie
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Photographed in an UB Koto Old Fashioned 30cl

Ingredients:
1 oz	Amaro Montenegro
²⁄₃ oz	Straight rye whiskey (100 proof /50% alc./vol.)
²⁄₃ oz	Gentian liqueur (e.g. Suze, Salers etc)
¹⁄₃ oz	Bourbon whiskey
²⁄₃ oz	Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill an Old-fashioned glass.
Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).
EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Amaro (e.g. Montenegro) - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

Juan Meyer's original recipe calls for equal parts: Redemption rye whiskey, Suze, Amaro de Montenegro, and lemon juice. It's very tasty but I couldn't resist switching and blending whiskies and proportions. Both versions create a bittersweet, aperitif-style cocktail.

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History:

Adapted from a recipe created in 2017 by Juan Meyer, Norwalk, United States. He told us, "I love Paper Planes, it's my go-to cocktail at any restaurant at any time of day. I also love Suze with its earthy undertones that complement the gentian liqueur, so this is my combination of both."

More cocktails by Juan Meyer

Nutrition:

One serving of Day La Vie contains 183 calories

Alcohol content:

1.3 standard drinks
18.69% alc./vol. (18.69° proof)
18.7 grams of pure alcohol

More Aperitivo/aperitif cocktails

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Showing 8 comments for Day La Vie.
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Frederic D.

9th June at 00:40

I made it with the original equal parts proportions, using Redwood Empire Lost Monarch as it already blends bourbon and rye. Overall I agree with Caspian Berggren's assessment below. I also added a couple of drops of saline about halfway through, which balanced out the herbal character from the Montenegro with Suze's earthiness.

Caspian Berggren

25th May at 15:04

I can certainly see where the cocktail creator got the Paper Plane notes from. This is like a Paper Plane with the earthy notes from Suze and the rye. The Montegro replacing Amaro Nonino works fabulously. Is it better than a PP? No, it isn't. Is it a good replacement when you want something darker and different? Absolutely.

Garth Stanish

27th March at 05:03

As other commentators noted, a really interesting mix of bitter and sour but with some depth from the Montenegro and bourbon…. It’s also a lovely colour; perfect for a NZ autumn

Avery Garnett

27th May 2023 at 16:04

I'm always hesitant with recipes with Suze in because on its own -- to me -- it's so bitter that it feels like it'll completely take over everything. Not here - it's definitely a Suze cocktail but it's perfectly balanced.

Rick Stark

22nd April 2023 at 23:49

Original recipe is quite good, my wife and I are big fans of Tequila and Mezcal. Try Blanco Tequila instead of Rye and Mescal instead of Bourbon. You won't be disappointed.

James Burnett

26th November 2022 at 00:35

Made as written, loved balance of bitter and sour. Big Suze fan, so it speaks to me

Luca Viviani

9th September 2022 at 17:00

I tried the original, equal parts version first and found it a bit too sour. Will try again reducing the gentian and the lemon as suggested by Simon

Luca Viviani

11th September 2022 at 09:06

I definitely liked the "revised" version (3 whiskey, 3 amaro, 2 gentian, 2 lemon) better. An interesting cocktail, where you can play with different amari to find the one that works best for you. I wouldn't do it again for aperitivo though, I will use it as an after-dinner