<br />Two users made comments about Smith & Cross overproofed rum being satisfactory, but no comment about the bourbon used in the making of The Professional. That's too bad because I believe the taste of this drink will, to a great extent, also be determined by the bourbon used. Some bourbons can be mild and mellow (e.g., Makers' Mark), while other bourbons may have a stronger, heavier taste (e.g., Bulleit Bourbon). Then, too, one needs to consider the proof of the bourbon. With these thoughts in mind, I put together The Professional consisting of Smith & Cross rum (114 proof), Elijah Craig bourbon (114 proof), and Campari (48 proof).

The combination of rum and bourbon I used for my first-ever taste of The Professional, I rated as 4.0. I suspect that using a lighter and mellower bourbon, such as Makers' Mark, will result in a cocktail that will be rated differently. So my cautionary note is: Pick carefully BOTH the bourbon and the rum you will be using in this cocktail. Your choices may well make or break your liking of what I think is a very good cocktail.

The creator of this drink piped up in a Reddit thread in /r/cocktails a few months ago and clarified the recipe. He called out Smith and Cross rum, OGD 114 (said Elijah Craig 114 and Weller 107 were also good) and said he served it over a large rock with a grapefruit twist.

Lovely and unique. Out of Punt e Mes and oranges, so I subbed 1/2 oz Cocchi di Torino & 1/4 oz Campari and skipped the garnish... So, yeah, a slightly different drink than intended, but still quite delicious. There's a minty-carraway thing going on that I'm really digging... Used the new Dickel Rye -- do you have a preference, DrunkLab?

I used Redemption Rye, which is the same juice (LDI) as the Dickel, and also found that cool mint/carraway accord you mention... going to try this with Rittenhouse 100 once I buy another bottle this weekend, the added proof should stand up nicely to the other ingredients. Glad you liked it! And I can't take too much credit for it being unique; I just took the recipe from the Fritz, subbed rye for the gin, and cut back slightly on the Maraschino. Still, I think I prefer it this way, and I'm glad it worked for you even with your (smart) substitutions.

While I haven't yet tried the Fritz or its predecessor, the Gerty, I guess by "unique," I meant the flavor profile. I would assume that the gin botanicals in the Fritz and the Pastis in the Gerty would be more present in those variations. The carraway flavor is neat to me because of its association to rye bread--my 2nd favorite use of that grain. ;P

Well in that case I agree--especially about the bread.

I'd like to try this with a half ounce of Bénédictine in place of the Maraschino, as a kind of nouveau Vieux Carré.... If anyone has any success with that variation, let me know! I need to acquire a bottle of Bénédictine first.

Well this was just fantastic. I made i with bourbon instead of rye, because that's what my guest prefers, but I can see how the spice of the rye would elevate it further.

Glad you liked it.

Quite nice anise notes to a Redhook variant. I might try 1/2 oz dry vermouth for sugar balance next time.

Made this tonight with Bulleit Rye, delicious. Just bought my first bottle of Luxardo yesterday (I know, I know) and this has me off to a great start.

I tried this with Benedictine, instead of Maraschino, as suggested by Rafa. It's fantastic, if a touch sweet. Another great use of Benedictine (so far I know of only two: this and the Vieux Carre).

Made this with Jim Beam Ghost, which was too harsh at 2 oz. I ended up using 1.5 oz Ghost, 1 oz Dolin Blanc, 0.75 oz Suze,, 0.25 oz Cocchi Americano, 0.25 oz Lillet Blanc, give or take.

The proposed recipe proportion was good back when I made it in 2022, but there are some period links that provide the original by Dominic Alling of Beretta. https://www.freutcake.com/in-the-kitchen/drinks-anyone/cocktail-friday-… from Oct. 2013 refers to a Refinery29 recipe from Sept. 2013 https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/53429#slide-3 that has the following proportions: 2 oz Bourbon (McKenna), 1 oz lemon juice, 1/4 oz Averna, 1/2 oz gum syrup, 2 dashes cardamom tincture.

My inclination is to update with the original recipe from the Beretta since it is referred to in the second article, and the drink is no longer showing on Beretta's online menu, so I would change the link. (I liked both the 1 oz and 1/4 oz Averna variations...might be tempted to go with 1/2 for a personal variation.) Comments about replacing with authentic recipe?

Also, the Scrappy's Cardamom bitters seems fine to me, although cardamom tincture could be listed instead. The recipe provided for the tincture is: "Let 1/2 cup cardamom pods sit in 1 cup of a high neutral grain spirit for five hours. Afterward, pods should be open and tincture should be a greenish hue. Don't let the infusion sit for too long to prevent from becoming too bitter."

Curated with update to match original recipe, list approx. year and creator. Replaced the restaurant link (no longer has this drink on web menu) with historical recipe link. Added cardamom tincture recipe to notes.

Also fixed typos in several KC cardamom ingredients, which had an "n" at the end rather than an "m".

Loved the flavor of this cocktail but it was too sweet with this quantity of agave. Next time will cut it in half.

Wonderful warm/hot weather cocktail with 1/2 original Agave adjusted per previous comments.