This one didn’t quite work for me… maybe heavy handed with the bitters? Or maybe picked the wrong mood…! Liked the dryness. I wonder what Hercules would be like..?

Well, I must say… part of the fun of all this is improvising when you need to. I hardly had the equipment to make this as is, but made it anyway. I used Laird’s 7 1/2 year apple brandy, Punt E Mes, and Thyme infused Cointreau (from Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s The Bar Book). It was fantastic and also a lovely use for the Thyme Cointreau that I always forget I have.

As a Calvados lover, this was great. Instead of Dubonnet, I subbed Lillet Rouge. Both work great together. Cointreau was back a bit as well as the Angostura. Next time I’m upping the ante and using 2 dashes. Boozy and hint sweet this is a good one for a cold night...or any.

Substituted Lillet Rouge for Dubonnet. Nice autumnal flavors. Calvados-forward with great aromatics from the Rouge.
The Cointreau was hard to find in the flavor mix. But a nice drink overall.