Inspired by this recipe (and lacking some of the ingredients above), I did one with: 1.5 Bourbon (Makers); 0.5 Cynar; 0.5 Dry Vermouth; 0.25 Luxardo Maraschino; 1 dash Absinthe. Stirred. I may have drifted a little too far to call mine a variation, but it was tasty.

Simonson has it as 1/2 oz Maraschino. Giving it a try that way even though 1/4 oz seems reasonable especially the Brooklyn variation roots.

I like this better than the Brooklyn.

The earliest known Brooklyn recipe is this from Jack's Manual circa 1908. The dry vermouth variation won out though.

This is a great riff of the Manhattan, to me the best cocktail in the world. I‘ve had it many times, and the ultimate combination is Sazerac Rye, Cinzano 1757, Amer Picon and Maraska Maraschino from Croatia. So balanced and elegant!

Curated to update broken source link.

This is close to the original 1908 Brooklyn/Dean Cocktail in Jack Grohusko's 1908 "Jack's Manual". The original Brooklyn used sweet vermouth (not dry)...although the Dean Cocktail in the same work is identical, so it might have been a transcription/printing error that carried through in later editions as well. The original 1908 Brooklyn was equal parts rye and vermouth w/ small amounts of Amer Picon and maraschino.

The current recipe using imported 21% ABV Amer Picon is somewhat disappointing, at least when paired with Rittenhouse and Carpano Antica. (Cocchi di Torino might be better based on a previous trial of the 1908 Brooklyn w/Amer Picon.) The current Amer Picon is a reformulation that lacks some of the character of the original pre-1970 formula. The orange aroma is present, but the orange flavor is mostly absent supplanted with more of a coffee ground center. I plan to retry this with Amer Boudreau, but there is a long lead time on making a batch of the dried orange peel tincture used to make it. In the meantime, I suspect Phil Ward's recommendation of Amaro Lucano would be better, or Bigallet China-China Amer which would deliver the orange flavor that went missing. And for a shorter term solution, Darren Scott's Amer Picon facsimile using a mix of dried bitter orange and fresh orange peel bitters could be worth a try.

The NYC crew settled on Amaro Ciociaro as the closest match that is easily available over Lucano (especially given the Sam Ross' app and other Milk & Honey related recipes). Lucano is elegant but a little softer in flavor instead of packing the ability to do what it needs to in a 1/4 oz like Ciociaro or the current Picon.

Yes, I was surprised by the Lucano recommendation as it lacks as much orange, particularly on the nose. There are about half a dozen cocktails that I like to make with Lucano, but CioCiaro has been the traditional recommended amaro sub for Picon (not counting the more orange flavored, but sweeter Bigallet China-china.)

I really like the punt e mes and nardini together- a spicy and rich cocktail. Thanks for sharing this!

Updated this to reflect the recipe in the Death and Co. book.

Thanks,

Zachary

I'm pretty excited about all of these brooklyn variations- thanks for rounding them up! I started with this one, using imbue bittersweet vermouth in place of dry since it was open, and bulleit rye. Really delicious, and a great use for montenegro- though I'm sure any of the lighter amari would work well if one didn't have it. I wasn't sure about the cucumber slices, but they work well with the herbaceousness of the rye and vermouth.

Thanks! I had to make it with Meletti, actually, which didn't seem right at all. Glad it works!

I love meletti, but that would be a very different drink. Can you get cora, vecchio del capo, or bittermen's amere nouvelle? Or maybe ciociaro? Those would all be in the right neighborhood I think...

Very light and moderately dry. A bit of muddling wouldn't hurt to get more cucumber into the flavor profile. A nice variation, but not one I would return to often.

Can you share the recipe for the fig syrup? I can add it to the notes.

Thanks,

Zachary

Moderated slightly. Dry hopped fig syrup is too specific to warrant its own ingredient entry. I changed it to simple syrup with a note of dry hopped fig. Thanks.

Curated this a bit - First, the Imbue things are tricky - they don't fall into categories very well. I moved Petal and Thorn into the ingredient box. I also removed the note from the sparkling wine (which for the most part was redundant). Finally, we're going to guess that 2 ounces of sparkling wine would almost fill the cocktail glass - it's better than having people who have very different sized glasses guess how much to float.

Thanks,

Zachary