Lone Wolf

2 oz Bourbon (Dominic prefers McKenna)
1⁄4 oz Averna
1 oz Lemon juice
1⁄2 oz Gomme syrup
2 ds Cardamom tincture (See notes. Or use cardamom bitters)
Instructions

Shake with ice, strain into coup.

Notes

UPDATED/CURATED: Replaced KC contributor's proportions with those published in an article later in 2013. The main difference is a reduction in Averna from 1 oz to 1/4 ounce.

Also, the original recipe used 2 dashes of a cardamom tincture (recipe below), although 2 dashes of Scrappy's Cardamom Bitters also works well.

Cardamom tincture: Add 1/2 cup cardamom pods to 1 cup of a high proof neutral spirit. After five hours pods should be open and tincture should be a greenish hue. Strain/filter the tincture, leaving it in contact with the pods too long will make it too bitter.

History

The original posting on KC was an attempt to reproduce a cocktail that KC member candlepowerdiety had at the Beretta in San Francisco several months earlier. It was very close, other than using 1 oz of Averna, vs. 1/4 oz in the authentic recipe, and using only one dash of cardamom bitters vs. 2 dashes of tincture.

Cocktail summary
Created by
Dominic Alling, Beretta, San Francisco, CA
Year
~2013
Is an
authentic recipe
Reference

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/53429#slide-3

Curator
Not yet rated
Average
4.5 stars
(5 ratings)
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Comments

The proposed recipe proportion was good back when I made it in 2022, but there are some period links that provide the original by Dominic Alling of Beretta. https://www.freutcake.com/in-the-kitchen/drinks-anyone/cocktail-friday-… from Oct. 2013 refers to a Refinery29 recipe from Sept. 2013 https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/53429#slide-3 that has the following proportions: 2 oz Bourbon (McKenna), 1 oz lemon juice, 1/4 oz Averna, 1/2 oz gum syrup, 2 dashes cardamom tincture.

My inclination is to update with the original recipe from the Beretta since it is referred to in the second article, and the drink is no longer showing on Beretta's online menu, so I would change the link. (I liked both the 1 oz and 1/4 oz Averna variations...might be tempted to go with 1/2 for a personal variation.) Comments about replacing with authentic recipe?

Also, the Scrappy's Cardamom bitters seems fine to me, although cardamom tincture could be listed instead. The recipe provided for the tincture is: "Let 1/2 cup cardamom pods sit in 1 cup of a high neutral grain spirit for five hours. Afterward, pods should be open and tincture should be a greenish hue. Don't let the infusion sit for too long to prevent from becoming too bitter."

Curated with update to match original recipe, list approx. year and creator. Replaced the restaurant link (no longer has this drink on web menu) with historical recipe link. Added cardamom tincture recipe to notes.

Also fixed typos in several KC cardamom ingredients, which had an "n" at the end rather than an "m".