Clown Car
Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with an orange twist (originally lemon).
One night, I was inspired to create a drink based off of my luck with the honey, Amaro Montenegro, and lemon combination in the Golden Ticket and the much weirder All of Freud's Beautiful Women. Like the latter's inspiration, I had just come back from an art expedition with this one being at Fruitlands. There was a statue there called Clown by sculpture Joseph Wheelwright, and that got me thinking of the term clown car. Somehow I landed upon the split base of Fernet Branca and Campari known as a Ferrari shot, and that is perhaps how the name stuck given the vehicular theme with a lot of flavor packed into it. Instead of a liqueur component to stretch out the Gold Rush/Bee's Knees structure, I opted for passion fruit syrup which worked great with honey in the Don's Special Daiquiri. Moreover, passion fruit complemented Campari in cocktails like the Novara and Fernet in the Sea Beast. Without realizing it until later, I had previously put the trio together in the Cornerman. Links to those drinks in the source reference URL.
- Was a bit scared to try this one and thought it would be SUPER bitter, but it turned out delicious! I used Bruto Americano instead of Campari, as it’s cheaper (and I think I actually prefer it).
- Black Hand Society — Fernet Branca, Campari, Pineapple juice, Lime juice, Cinnamon syrup
- Body Shop — Fernet Branca, Campari, Islay Scotch, Ginger-Honey Syrup, Lemon juice
- Cornerman — Fernet Branca, Campari, Passion fruit syrup, Mint, Lemon, Salt
- A Farewell to Arms — Fernet Branca, Falernum, Lime juice, Simple syrup, Mint
- Ghost Rider — Fernet Branca, Campari, Maraschino Liqueur, Ginger syrup, Lime juice, Candied ginger
