Tin Can Telephone
Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe or glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.
Uploaded after all these years since Shawn C mentioned this drink here yesterday.
At Russell House Tavern years ago, I wanted to craft a riff on the classic Marconi Wireless. It started with me thinking about how well gentian liqueurs like Salers pair with sweet vermouth such as in the Harry Palmer. It ended up a 3 part drink, and since we do a 4 ounce pour at the bar, I was left with a recipe that was a quarter ounce short. While the original was good, it was improved with the earthy, herbal, and chocolate notes of Benedictine; I tried that knowing how well apple brandy and Benedictine pair in drinks like the Full House #2. In the end, it seemed less like a Negroni structure and more like a Vieux Carré. For a name, I took the communication theme and dubbed it the Tin Can Telephone.
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- Excellent with Suze (and served in a rocks glass sans rock, as my coupes can't hold that much).
- The Moops — Rye, Amaro, Bianco Vermouth, Bitters, Apricot liqueur
- Grandmother's Tea — Cognac, Bianco Vermouth, Amaro, Strega, Orange cream citrate, Lemon peel, Orange peel
- Romancing the Stone — Scotch, Cardamaro, Amaro, Herbal liqueur, Orange bitters, Grapefruit peel
- Rosso Doré — Cognac, Rhum Agricole, Aromatized wine, Campari, Crème Yvette, Bitters, Meyer lemon zest
- Super Ego — Aromatized wine, Campari, Bourbon, Bitters, Cherry
This is a fun one to try because the end result is somewhat unexpected, at least to me, and the drink is a pleasant sip. The Laird's apple flavor is hidden or transformed, but a moderate chocolate note emerges, even when using Cinzano sweet vermouth (vs. Cocchi Vermouth di Torino which often produces a chocolate flavor). I can't say I have noticed chocolate in Benedictine before, but some describe a caramel or fudge flavor in tasting notes for Benedictine, so there is some similarity/basis for it. I used Salers which is dry and provides the purest/simplest gentian expression in the cocktail. Since the orange bitters were not specified, I used the Death & Co. equal parts Fee's/Regan's/Angostura mix to cover all the bases.
I believe we were using Regan's Orange Bitters back then at that bar, but I didn't record that in my blog so I didn't put it there. Also, most craft bars in Boston in 2013 were using Regan's especially with the ease in ordering them from the same distributor that sold us Peychaud's and whiskey.
Also, I uploaded the recipe because Shawn loves it so much (I think I invented it and served it to 2 or 3 guests at most).