Rene Barbier
Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon oil from a twist (or the whole twist)
When I attended Gary Regan's Cocktails in the Country retreat in 2015, I had my turn making drinks for everyone during the Organized Chaos session. In my 20 minute time block, I came up with 5 or 6 drinks on the spot with this one being my favorite, and it started by spying the bottle of Camus Cognac on the shelf. The direction I took was inspired by the Lucien Gaudin for I paired Campari with curaçao. In the Negroni-variation vein, I also thought of Phil Ward's 2005 Cocktails in the Country drink, the Cornwall Negroni that had Punt e Mes and bitters in the mix. For a name, I stuck with the Lucien Gaudin concept and dubbed this one after another fencer, Rene Barbier -- a Frenchman who medalled in the 1928 Olympics. I did not take down tasting notes during the melee, but I do recall Gaz commenting that "this is my sort of drink!"
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- Awesome! Used Angostura bitters
- Intercept — Bourbon, Sweet vermouth, Campari, Apricot liqueur, Bitters, Orange peel
- Novecento — Cognac, Sweet vermouth, Campari, Maraschino Liqueur, Bitters, Peychaud's Bitters, Lemon juice, Lemon peel
- Boulevardier (Cure version) — Rye, Sweet vermouth, Campari, Orange peel
- The Adams — Bourbon, Campari, Sweet vermouth, Kummel, Bitters
- Reverse Brooklyn (Erik Ellestad) — Sweet vermouth, Bourbon, Bigallet China-China, Maraschino Liqueur
I could see how if you used sweet vermouth instead of Punt e Mes that it would be sweet. Otherwise, it was Gary Reagan approved and has made a bunch of folks happy with nary a complaint about sweetness. True, not as dry as the Lucien Gaudin that was the inspiration.
The cocktail is certainly not cloying. The combination of Campari & Punt e Mes keeps the bitter profile front and center. I noted the result in the drink overall as "semi-sweet/semi-bitter" because neither dominates. I wonder if the other poster used a rather sweet triple sec/curacao rather than Pierre Ferrand, which is one of the drier offerings (although with still notable sugar, something like 180 - 200 g/liter depending on the source of the info.) Sweeter curacaos run in the 250-300+ g/liter range.
Interestingly, Punt e Mes is listed as 220 g/liter sugar while Dolin Sweet Vermouth is only 130 g/liter and Carpano Antica is similarly in the 130+ range. However, Punt e Mes has a more assertive bitter backbone and doesn't seem that sweet. For comparison, Campari is quite bitter but has 250 g/liter of sugar. As with acidity, bitterness counters sweetness, making the raw sugar content seem less than it is.
