Starts with a mellow cane flavor from the cachaça blend that fades away to allow the bitterness of Amaro Montenegro and grapefruit to cover the mouthfeel.

Swap out the tequila base with mezcal or a tequila/mezcal split for something smokier. For the Granny Smith apple juice, you can either fresh press it using a juicer (it oxidizes quickly so add some citrus) or muddle 1/2 a diced apple. For the Green Peppercorn Agave Syrup, sous vide 1 cup water, 1 cup agave nectar and 15 green peppercorns for 2 hours at 155 degrees. Strain and bottle. Or bring water to a boil in a stove top pot, add agave nectar and peppercorns, simmer on low for 15 minutes and strain. You could also muddle a few green peppercorns with .5 oz 1:1 agave syrup.

I use an Omega Vert juicer to make the strawberry juice for quicker service, alternately you could muddle a sliced strawberry. Though I prefer this with strawberry, it also works well with blackberries, blueberries, or other seasonal berries instead.

Also works well with cinnamon syrup or falernum instead of the Chinese 5 spice syrup.

For the Chinese 5 spice syrup combine 1 cup each water and demerara sugar with toasted 5 spice ingredients (.5 tbsp cloves, 1 tbsp each Szechuan peppercorn & fennel seeds, 2 tbsp star anise, 1 cracked cinnamon stick). Sous vide for 2 hours at 145 degrees, plunge into ice bath, strain and bottle. Add .25 oz overproof vodka if desired to extend shelf life. Alternately use 3 tbsp of quality 5 spice powder. Or there are also several stove top recipes for 5 spice syrup available online.

1. The Gin. I bought a jar of Moroccan-style olives, poured out all of the brine, refilled the jar with gin, and let it "steep" for at least a week.
2. The Grapefruit. This particular grapefruit has a tiny bit of sweetness.
3. The sherry vinegar. I found this particular "high performance" version a few years ago and it really makes a difference. You don't want "vinegar." Rather, you want a very flavorful Sherry vinegar.