I found the cocktail tart and dry, but a little thin, very much relying on the garnish for flavor. I added 2 dashes of cherry bitters and 1 dash of plum bitters to amplify the berry notes, which I thought helped fill out the drink.
I am surprised that the Hawaiian Stone Sour is missing from the list of Stone Sours. I assume that the lack of orange juice is the reason. Even though the Hawaiian Stone Sour is pushing the limits of the drink definition, it is my favorite. I prefer the bigger flavors and bite of fresh pineapple juice.
I found this far too sweet as written. The version on Kindred has twice the ratio of Bourbon to Amaro Lucano and Creme de Cacao. Those ratios create a much dryer drink with more space to appreciate the carmel and chocolate flavors.
My pet peeve with cocktail bars is using pre batched ingredients. I can understand it for extracting fruit juices before opening and liquors with infusions or washes, but I don't want a Word that came out of two bottles. I have experienced this most often in New York, but it seems to be spreading.
Love this drink, but I have two questions. What would you substitute for the Amer Picon for those of us in the USA (where it's not available)? Have you tried this with Picon Biere, which was the only Picon I could find in France last summer? How does that compare to the Amer? Thanks everyone!
Hi Whitney, Picon Biere is a flavored beer, like a Shandy. It's not distilled. There are US craft distillers making Picon Amer like liquors. Golden Moon distillery outside Denver offers one called Picon dit Amer. I use that in place of Picon Amer although I have never had the original so I cannot make a comparison.
This is the closest thing I have found to replace Chartreuse. I estimate it is 80-90% of the green Chartreuse flavor, and it is close in alcohol content, too. It is a much better approximation than Strega on which the Internet seems to have settled.
Simon,
I have tried to suggest that liquer makers create a Chartreuse like product. So far, I have not even had a "thank you for your message" response from any of the companies I have contacted. It's an expensive and popular product. I am surprised that the market has not reacted to the Carthusian monks change of business plans. Do you have any insights that you could share?
I wonder if the portions for this are correct? I found the drink as written to be dominated by the sherry. The apricot flavor appears briefly after about the third sip, but disappears quickly.
I remade it several times based on the proportions in Difford's Perfect Bamboo. I found the most integrated version to be
1.5 Oloroso sherry
0.5 over proof rye
0.5 apricot liqueur
0.25 bianco vermouth
0.25 dry vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes orange bitters
I like this Angostura forward cocktail that I found on Kindred Cocktails.
A Moment of Silence
1 1/2 oz Rye, Rittenhouse 100 Proof
1 oz Apricot liqueur, Marie Brizard
1/2 oz Averna
1/2 oz Bitters, Angostura
1/4 oz Apple brandy, Lairds
1 rinse Campari
1 twst Orange peel (as garnish)
Rinse a rocks glass with Campari. Stir and strain over fresh ice into rinsed glass and garnish with an orange twist.