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Don's Little Bitter

1 oz Rum, Barbancourt (8 yr)
1⁄2 oz Fernet Branca
1⁄2 oz Lemon juice
1⁄2 oz Simple syrup
1⁄4 oz Bitters, Angostura
1⁄8 oz Peychaud's Bitters
1⁄8 oz Orange bitters, Angostura Orange
Instructions

Shake with ice and double strain into a coupe glass.

Cocktail summary
Posted by Dan on
Created by
Don Lee, PDT, New York, NY
Year
2008
Is an
authentic recipe
Reference

http://cocktailclassics.blogspot.com/2009/03/dons-little-bitter.html

Curator
4 stars
User rating
4 stars
(20 ratings)
Yields Drink

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From other users
  • Subbed agave for the simple syrup and used a quarter of the amount - not enough as it turned out. — ★★★★
  • This is one smooth cocktail. Made with Appleton 12 and dark simple.
  • Augie had at Drink June 2016
  • Nice cocktail; I will make again. Reminds me in some ways of an industry sour.
  • Cut back the Angostura a bit, and served this down (chilled glass, no rocks) as the link suggests as an option. The medicinal aspects of the fernet are strong. Interesting. — ★★★★★
  • Really nice. Strong Angostura. Surprisingly, it needed the simple. Made again with Barbancourt; better with Clement VSOP. — ★★★★★
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Comments
Zachary Pearson commented on 12/05/2011:

Made this tonight for Repeal Day, and I'm wondering where it's been all my life. I subbed St. James Hors d'Age for the Barbancourt. Weirdly enough, the Ango Orange drives this cocktail - it's got a strong bitter orange peel/vitamin aroma and flavor, but considering all the bitter in this, it is only mildly so. This is really delicious stuff. 

Thanks,

Zachary

Dan commented on 2/22/2012:

Finally got around to trying this. Excellent, although I think it can use more rum. I used 2 oz, unless I measured wrong (which is possible).

Dan commented on 4/21/2013:

Made again. Don't use more rum, at least not more Barbancourt. It results in a flatter cocktail. Consider less Angostura and more of the other bitters as it dominates.

jaba commented on 3/20/2014:

This is amazing. It's complex yet refreshing. I used Fee Bros Orange instead of the Angostura orange. Not sure how different they are. Also, per Dan's recommendation, I used a teaspoon each of the 3 bitters.

drjones commented on 9/05/2024:

A great after dinner cocktail. All the bitters, including Fernet, are great for digestion and overall is very balanced. I thought about adding more Barbancourt 8 rum, and sweetener after I tasted what was in the shaker tin before adding ice. But before I crossed the Rubicon and shook it up with ice I decided to try the cocktail as created, and am enjoying each slightly bittersweet sip as I type. Next time I'll alter the three bitters' ratios as Dan suggested, going with one tsp each.