Bitter Sunday Afternoon

3 oz Aromatized wine, Cocchi Americano
1 oz Gran Classico
1 oz Gin, The Botanist (or other dry floral gin)
1⁄2 oz Salers Gentiane
1 twst Lemon peel (expressed, as garnish)
Instructions

Stir, strain, chilled cocktail glass, straight up, express, rest peel on rim

Cocktail summary
Posted by burl on
Created by
Burl
Year
2015
Is the
author's original creation
Curator
Not yet rated
Average
4 stars
(4 ratings)
YieldsDrink
Cocktail Book
Log in or sign up to start building your Cocktail Book.
From other users
  • Tried as written; found it pretty meek - barely bitter. I'd try the various suggestions to decrease the Cocchi and up the gin and bitters. I might sub Kina L'Aero D'Or for the Cocchi
  • Treated as an equal parts, then added more gin for second try. Maybe sub Rabarbaro for GC" Next night: 1.5 gin, 1 oz each Cocchi, Salers, rabarbaro (I used Cappelletti). I loved it but I like all these ingredients...
Similar cocktails
  • The Americanino — Bianco Vermouth, Braulio, Sparkling water, Lemon peel
  • Boulevardier (1929) — Aromatized wine, Campari, Cognac
  • Dear Gowanus — White whiskey, Aromatized wine, Contratto Fernet, Bitters
  • Rosalie — Aromatized wine, Campari, Soda water, Mint, Rose water
  • Quinine Cobbler — Aromatized wine, Amontillado Sherry, Bitters, Grenadine
  • Little Valiant — Salers Gentiane, Aromatized wine, Orange bitters, Lemon juice, Salt
Comments

Are the amounts correct? 5.5 oz seems like an awfully large drink (even at low abv). Thanks, Zachary

Dan commented on 3/09/2015:

Curated to conform to style guidelines. I agree, as written, it will not fit in a proper-sized cocktail glass. Would need a 10 oz glass or so. Serve with two staws?? ;)

This drink surprises me; I mean with several questions about--are these really the right amounts? There's enough liquid in this drink to quench a thirsty horse! The the answer comes back--kind of--yes, they've been curated; it's just a big drink, so pour it into a double or triple Old Fashioned cold glass!

Despite the affirmative answer as to the proportions, apparently nobody has tried to make this mountainous drink. So... The first thing I did was to look at the ingredients, as well as the amount of each ingredient, in an effort to decide when would this drink be imbibed. I decided probably late afternoon (especially in warm weather, like from late spring to early fall), and/or before dinner. With that in mind, I changed the cocktail to the following:
1 1/2 oz gin (use either The Botanist or Tanqueray's Bloomsbury)
2 oz Cocchi Americano
1 oz Gran Classico
1 oz Salers
Lemon oil espressed atop the drink's surface, and drop the peel in.

Reducing each liquid ingredient by half will result in a 2 3/4 oz cocktail, which is consistent with what most people drink these days.

After doing a lot of sipping and some cogitating on the resultat drink, I broke down and rated it 4.0. One more sip (which wasn't there), and I would have rated it 4.5 Regardless it was a semi-sweet drink (a la Cocchi Americano) with a slight bitter taste from the Gran Classico and the Salers. It all came together to make a very delicious, satisfying drink (even though it was 9:30 PM.)

The resulting cocktail is exactly as I envisioned it: one (maybe two) to be consumed on a lazy, hazy, crazy day of summer or as a before dinner drink. There's a lot of aperitif in the "Bitter Sunday Afternoon." The next time I make this cocktail, I will make the cocktail as follows (and call it "Better Sunday Afternoon" for obvious reasons)
1 1/2 oz gin (The Botanist or Tanqueray's Bloomsbury) (add up to 1/2 oz per your taste) (Some may want only 1 oz)
1 1/2 oz Cocchi Americao (1 oz may suffice for many)
1/2 oz Salers (not Suze) (increase to 1 oz, per your taste)
1 oz Gran Classico
Lemon zest espressed on the cocktails surface after the
cocktail has been stirred and strained into an Old Fashioned glass

Reducing each liquid ingredient by half will result in a 2 1/2 oz cocktail. It will be larger if any ingredient (e.g., gin) is increased.

I would like to hear from others, as they experiment with this cocktail. For example, maybe using I oz for each ingredient will make for a good cocktail; or maybe Salers isn't necessary, etc.
Please experiment and write back as to your results and how you rate them. This cocktail can be made in many different ways, and most taste great!