3/29/23: Subbed Faccia Brutto Aperitivo for the Campari, 1.5 oz Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, Pilsner Urquell. Nice!

Serve with fingers, or another meal.

I updated the instructions to specify that you shake with ice, baby, though unfortunately I think KC frowns on mixin' cocktails with a plastic-tipped cigar.

Upped the lemon juice a smidge. Might have brown liqueur but still tastes like a summer drink.

I decided to try this since I've been staring at my bottle of sloe gin (bitter truth) for 3 years and I'd like to make space for something else. And, I love my Lemon Hart 80 (which sadly is now unavailable) and wanted to see if my unopened 151 hit the same delicious flavor notes. I knew this was going to be boozy, but on top of that it's quite sour with nothing to round it out. Maybe this was developed with sweeter sloe gins. I added maybe 1/2 oz each orgeat and sweet vermouth and a big mint sprig, which helped a lot, but I'm still in the market for an awesome sloe gin recipe. And open to suggestions on which El Dorado is closest to my Lemon Hart 80.

ED8 is probably closest.

Thank you!

I would like to rate this a 3.5, but can't go as low as 3, so it gets a 4. The drink, as I prepared it, seemed to capture the essence of the Croatian/eastern European liqueurs and is worth a try for regional/stylistic perspective if nothing else. I used Maraska Slivovitz, Badel Pelinkovac, and Maraska Maraschino (1/6 oz - 1 U.S. barspoon). As one might expect, the slivovitz dominates, enough that the cinnamon heat of the usually assertive Becherovka is in a supporting role rather being up front. It has some mild sweetness, and the Pelinkovac provides wormwood bitter and somewhat herbal background. If you don't like slivovitz (or Kirchwasser), then steer clear of this one. There is room for experimenting with the bones of this cocktail.