Name: Bitter Giuseppe
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 1 twist Lemon peel; 60 ml Cynar/carciofo amaro; 30 ml Vermouth alla vaniglia; 7.5 ml Lemon juice; 3 dash Orange bitters

Bitter Giuseppe
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Photographed in an UB Koto Old Fashioned 30cl

Ingredients:
1 twist	Lemon peel
2 oz	Cynar or other carciofo amaro
1 oz	Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth
¹⁄₄ oz	Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
3 dash	Orange Bitters by Angostura

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill an Old-fashioned glass.
Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist (in addition to twist used in the recipe).
EXPRESS oils from lemon zest twist into stirring glass and drop zest into glass.
Add other ingredients and STIR with ice.
STRAIN into ice-filled glass.
EXPRESS a lemon zest over each cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Vermouth rosso alla vaniglia (e.g. Antica Formula) - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

It's bitter Giuseppe, best you enjoy this as an aperitivo.

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History:

Adapted from a recipe created in 2007 by Stephen Cole at The Violet Hour in Chicago, Illinois.

More cocktails by Stephen Cole

More Aperitivo/aperitif cocktails
More Bittersweet (e.g. Negroni) cocktails
More Short & stirred 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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Travis Dotson

1st June at 22:12

I am a big fan of cynar, so I was excited to come across the Bitter Giuseppe. I think the version with 1/4 oz Lemon juice and 6 dashes of orange bitters (I use Luxardo) is perfect.

I have also created a Smoky Giuseppe which I think is even better. I think Cynar 70 and mezcal work well together.

Smoky Giuseppe

2oz Cynar 70
1oz Dolin Vermouth Rouge
1/4oz Mezcal
1/2oz Apricot Brandy
1/4oz Cherry Heering
1/4oz lemon juice
6 dashes Orange bitters

Justine Fehley

18th April at 02:09

I made this with Cynar 70. Surprisingly sweet with a long bitter finish. Four stars.

Mark

28th March at 22:21

An oddity of a stirred drink yet quite pleasant, tartness does tone down the vermouth and lets cynar take the main stage.

Luca Viviani

15th November 2024 at 11:13

I had high hopes for this cocktail, which I made with Cynar 70 proof. However, I found it too tart and citrusy. Will try tuning down bitters next time. I only have Angostura Orange Bitters, that I am not too fond of. I wonder if more premium bitters would have made a better cocktail.

Simon Difford

15th November 2024 at 12:09

Agreed. Looking below, in a previous comment, I said 6 dashes of bitters were too much so I have reverted to 3 dashes.

Hugo Gravelle

11th July 2024 at 19:58

Could you sub Antica for say Dolin Rouge or another Rosso style Vermouth? Anitica contains gelatine (V). Love Cynar.

Travis Dotson

1st June at 22:02

I make this with Dolin Rouge and 6 dashes of luxardo orange bitters

John CARR

1st September 2024 at 14:04

Anything to add a bit more body,eg vermouth di Torino, or even 50:50 Dolin and punt e mes.

John CARR

26th April 2024 at 12:46

As a variation, and being in the mood for gin, I bumped everything back by a third and added 40ml of gin, making a …cin-cyn Giuseppe?

Avery Garnett

29th April 2024 at 17:35

for unrelated reasons I had a hankering for cynar and stumbled across your comment - a very tasty variant, though I think I prefer the cleanliness of the original :D

1 reply

John CARR

26th April 2024 at 11:51

I’m a fan of Cynar, even more so after trying this! I made it as a half as wasn’t sure - but quickly wished more! Agreed re the underlying sweetness. And the orange bitters and carpano go beautifully. Will definitely be making again.

John CARR

26th April 2024 at 11:53

And, yes, reminiscent of a Negroni but more approachable, as Erik says.

Briana Warsing

26th May 2023 at 18:49

omg this is delicious. it's tart for sure, but there is an underlying sweetness and something about it is light and refreshing, despite its color

Erik Lindgren

7th January 2023 at 17:49

I was really surprised by the taste of this cocktail even though I had tried cynar before. The lemon juice and the antica formula transforms to a bitter style cola cocktail, which was not expected. Very approachable, much more so than the negroni!