I found this drink linked to the same article as The Getaway and was excited to try it, because I thought I had Cara Cara oranges. But when I sliced one open, I was quickly reminded that I'd sprung for the Moro blood oranges instead. No matter; they gave this drink a gorgeous hue. Also, it seemed like it might be a touch sweet, so I dropped the simple (I had Demerara, not Turbinado) to 3/4 ounce... Sadly, my chocolate mint died a couple months ago, so I skipped it. And I wasn't about to fire up a grill for one slice of orange, so I subbed a flamed Seville orange peel... I love the bittersweet-sour genre of drinks, and this is a great example.

Hmm.... an interesting drink here. Two questions: (1) Can you paraphrase the instruction in your own words please? (2) I'm wondering why the source says "shake the (3/4 oz) spirits with ice to make 1 oz", then neglects to tell you what to do with the juice and simple.

Yeah, I suppose I didn't read it that closely before pasting it in... I assume he meant "liquids" rather than "spirits," and I'm guessing he meant "adding 1 ounce of dilution". The original source for The Getaway had a similar (odd) dilution instruction... I've tweaked the instructions to be more clear.

What's weird to me is that they're so specific calling for the 3/4 oz (!?) of spirits to be diluted to 1 oz. What are you supposed to do with the juices and simple, put them in a glass and dump it down the sink?

Well, by my math, the pre-diluted spirits already add up to 1 1/4 oz (1/2 + 1/2 + 1/4), so that's why I interpreted it as 1 ounce of dilution. He said "dilute TO 1 ounce," but what he probably meant was "dilute BY 1 ounce." The omission of the non-alcoholic ingredients is rather puzzling, though... But unless told to do something specific with an ingredient (float, rinse, etc.), I tend to assume it all goes into the mixing glass.

I made 2 of these last night (couldn't let that other half orange go to waste!) and found it truly fascinating. The blood orange and lemon combine nicely, and the 3 amari play so well together that I couldn't pick any of them out until the finish, when the Fernet finally peeked out to say hello ('cause, y'know, it's Fernet).

Picked up some Cara Caras today, so I had to try this again... Wow! Almost a completely different drink. The citrus has a completely different character, and is much more grapefruit-like, reminding me of the Jasmine. The Fernet stays a little more in the background too... I'm honestly not sure which I like more (though the blood orange version had a much more pleasing color). Fortunately, it's not a very boozy drink, so I suppose I'll have to make 1 or 2 more each way to decide. ;)

Shockingly balanced.. despite my concerns. The black cardamon is a very strong / long evolving smoke and really does something nice with the hardcore bitter bomb of campari on the early palate and the orange liqueur (I used Pierre Ferrand Curacao) links them so it has a really nice long evolution and finish. I'm not 100% sure I'm even getting much overt rye though suspect it may be holding up the other flavors / adding a little fullness.

In The Essential Cocktail, DeGroff uses 3/4 oz cognac, 1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur and 1/2 oz lemon juice.