A Forest

2 oz Old Tom Gin, Hayman's
1⁄4 oz Elderflower liqueur
1⁄4 oz Amaro dell'Erborista
1⁄4 oz Crème de Violette
1⁄4 oz Allspice Dram
6 dr Bitters, Bittercube Bolivar
Instructions

Stirred with ice; coupé glass; twist a lemon peel over it.

Notes

It's also good with bourbon instead of the gin (I'd suggest Elijah Craig 12), but then you lose the interesting pale mossy green color.

History

I was curious if anything here had pimento dram and crème de violette in it. After I found nothing, I thought "I wonder how many other herbal/flowery things I could slam together in a glass..." The Amaro dell'Erborista was easily my choice for an amaro as it's the most herbaceous (to me). I wonder how this would be with Zirbenz...

Cocktail summary
Picture of A Forest
2014 Saga Söderback
Posted by laerm on
Created by
Saga Söderback, Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY
Year
2014
Is the
author's original creation
Curator
Not yet rated
Average
4 stars
(12 ratings)
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From other users
  • Really nice. A tad sweet perhaps . Up the booze to 2.5oz on next go.
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Comments

Very unique, but I had the wrong Erborista... Also, the pic seems odd considering the Creme de violette and dram.

A drink made with Hamilton pimento dram might look like that. Agreed that the CdV is a surprise, though.

laerm commented on 11/21/2021:

Hi all –

Regarding a question in the comments here: my allspice dram and CdV were homemade so that may explain the surprising translucence of this drink.

@noksagt You are correct, an email with the OP confirmed "author's original creation" is right.
I'll probably stir this rather than shake when I try it. Cheers!

The slightly mossy gray/green is what I get with R&W Creme de Violette and St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram that I used. The 1/2 oz total of floral components (violet and elderflower) turns the drink into "A Florist" more than "A Forest" though. It isn't unpleasant, but the floral components dominate. Maybe cutting them to a barspoon each and adding some Zirbenz or Douglas Fir eau de vie would shift the balance?