Name: Art of Choke
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 8 fresh Mint leaves; 30 ml Light white rum; 30 ml Cynar/carciofo amaro; 7.5 ml Chartreuse Green; 7.5 ml Brown sugar syrup; 5 ml Lime juice; 2 dash Aromatic bitters

Art of Choke
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Serve in an Old-fashioned glass

Ingredients:
8 fresh	Mint leaves
1 oz	Light white rum (charcoal-filtered 1-4 years old)
1 oz	Cynar or other carciofo amaro
¹⁄₄ oz	Green Chartreuse (or alternative herbal liqueur)
¹⁄₄ oz	Demerara/Muscovado/brown sugar syrup (2 sugar to 1 water)
¹⁄₆ oz	Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
2 dash	Angostura Aromatic Bitters

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Garnish: Mint sprig bouquet

How to make:

Lightly MUDDLE (just to bruise) mint in base of mixing glass. Add other ingredients, STIR with ice and strain into ice-filled glass.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

A bittersweet cocktail that's best enjoyed as an aperitivo.

View readers' comments

History:

Adapted from a recipe created in 2008 by Kyle Davidson at The Violet Hour in Chicago, USA. As for the name, say it again while remembering the original recipe calls for Cynar, a liqueur flavoured with artichoke leaves.

Alcohol content:

1.2 standard drinks
20.86% alc./vol. (20.86° proof)
16.8 grams of pure alcohol

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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Calvin Grant

12th May at 04:19

Mmm...yum! Likin' this one! Like a rich bittersweet chocolate truffle with a tangy fruity center. But not too sweet. Oh, and the chill mint (think peppermint patty). There's a lot going on here. I used wild mint, Cynar 70, dark muscovado sugar from Mauritius for the syrup, Planteray 3 Stars, Chartreuse, Angostura. Fantastic. Will make again while the mint's fresh.

Garth Stanish

13th February at 05:31

I absolutely love how the mint sneaks through here; this lovely little undertone…..

G. M. Genovese

22nd July 2024 at 17:21

I can't escape a Mint Julep comparison with this one. Cynar and Chartreuse lengthening the demerara and mint, respectively. This measure of lime doesn't seem to get in the way, but simply heightens the expression of ingredients a small bit.

Peter Griffith

26th November 2022 at 21:59

Using a Rum Agricole instead of white rum makes it even more layered and interesting

letti pearce

25th June 2022 at 17:37

Reminiscent of a mojito but better, with added herbal and bitter notes making it more complex and interesting

Two Hands, One Drink

10th March 2022 at 20:22

This cocktail is one that has lots of things that I like in it, but when you first try it, it seems horribly out of balance. Even after a long stir over ice, and then serving it in a rocks glass over ice, it still needs some time to mellow out in the glass before everything comes into balance. At that point, it's a good - not great - cocktail. But all the same, an interesting one to try if only for it's eclectic composition.

Phil West

19th January 2021 at 08:13

I feel strongly that this adaptation is thrown way off balance by the addition of a 3/4 oz pour of lime juice.
The original was a long shot that became popular but broke the rules by adding a small(!) amount of lime to a stirred drink. I feel the original is much more balanced and works for a stirred drink with:
1oz white rum
1oz Cynar
1/4oz chartreuse(green)
3/4tsp rich demerara syrup
3/4tsp lime juice
That formula, I think, makes for a better, more balanced drink.

Simon Difford

19th January 2021 at 22:15

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I've amended lime to 1/6oz rather than 3/4oz.

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