Shake, strain, up.
This is the seventh in a series on Bourbon by Zach Pearson. Read them all: Bourbon, Bourbon After the Act, Bourbon: What it is ... and isn't, Making Bourbon, Who Makes My Bourbon, Producer Capsules., Finding the Good Stuff, Tasting the Good Stuff, Neat, Mashbills, Geeky Information and Resources.
So look… this doesn't work in Oregon. The best thing to do here is to keep an eye on the Next Month Price Change list, and find things that you want that are going way down in price. Most recently, this was the infamous Laphroaig 10 for $20.25, but about a year ago, A. de Fussigny Tres Vielle Cognac dropped from $220 to $100 a bottle, and if you know that it’s a 50 year old Cognac that hasn’t been made in 10-15 years… well, let’s just say it was worth the drive to Eugene to pick up two bottles.
It also doesn’t work in Washington, which is too new at the private liquor sales game to have dusty old bottles lying around. There’s a lot of clean, bright new liquor stores and some helpful people, but taxes being what they are up there… I’d just avoid wasting a lot of time looking in Washington for liquor.
Very good. . .perhaps a bit tame? Maybe sub in Rye for the bourbon?
I love Islay single malts, but to me the the butch Lagavulin 16 overpowers the flavors of the other ingredients.
Consider using either less, or try a moderately smoky/peaty single malt like the brilliant Talisker’s Distiller’s Edition or Caol Ila 12 year. PG
Spicy, textured but light, bright and sour. A+ whiskey sour
I much prefer the variation from Meat & Potatoes in Pittsburgh (don't know the bartender's name):
3/4 oz gin
3/4 oz elderflower
3/4 oz pink grapefruit
3/4 oz aperol
1 dsh peychaud's
Optional grapefruit twist for garnish
Lovely brunch cocktail.
Workable with half as much lemon juice (I used ~3/8 oz). The given recipe would likely be too sour (as an early comment noted) and dry when combined with the Cardamaro. As with many drier/acidic cocktails it improves (for my palate) as it warms somewhat, bringing other flavors forward. The wine base of the Cardamaro is masked by the lemon juice when very cold, a not uncommon problem I have noticed with lime/lemon/grapefruit juice drinks. I am rating my reduced lemon version as 3 out of 5, but something is missing that would elevate the drink.