Steve Cox

I had a friend give me the rest of his Picon Amer bottle, and I actually preferred the China China. Great addition to American whiskey based cocktails in place of an amaro or vermouth.

So tried making a Amer Picon substititute again that I could just batch. Equal parts orange bitters, Cointreau, Aperol, and Nonino Amaro. Will still work on sourcing some Amer Picon though.

I love what the dry vermouth adds to this, and my first time trying this "manhattan" style cocktail with it. It adds a little more depth and complexity. I don't have the Picon and have not tried it, so I wasn't sure how best to substitute it. I instead added several dashes of orange bitters and 1 drop of black walnut bitters. I can see myself making these more frequently so I may spring for a bottle of Picon. And now I'm on a quest to try more of the dry/sweet vermouth hybrids.

Would this do okay with using St Germaine as a substitute for the chamomile liqueur? Or would doing something like infusing chamomile tea into a cointreau or grand marnier bet a better substitute?