Spirituous, smoky, earthy, bittersweet, floral, herbal and complex. I've reduced the original serve by one-third to produce a complex, serious and most...
Somehow the balance in this is such that you can kill it by overdoing it on the garnish. In my first attempt the smell of orange from my fingers knocked out all the subtleties and skewed the whole drink towards straight orange. A smaller patch of orange zest on take two allowed for a far better drink.
This is a really balanced drink. I describe it as none of the ingredients are in charge but all do their job in adding the subtle notes as intended. Together they make a new flavor.
Quite sippable, not really so intense as some have indicated. Rye and Mezcal fight for dominance, with Averna somehow bridging the gap. Aperol lends bitter orange notes that tie together the garnish (originally flamed orange oil, as I understand) and the Amaro, with a bit of sweetness on the back end that ushers in the Elderflower ever so subtly. The ingredients are all keeping one another in check miraculously, but the cocktail somehow lacks a cohesive flavour.
Glad of the reduced serve: the flavours here are OTT intense!! It is balanced and can taste all the components… but SO strong! Maybe Halloween is the best time for this. Title well earned. One to come back to I think.