Has anyone tried this? I realize it's a Negroni variation, with the little-used Meletti in lieu of Campari. It does seem a bit sweet, but worth trying. I'm wondering if splitting the Punt e Mes with some dry vermouth would be needed, or maybe it's great as written.

I also wonder if rye or bourbon would work, since the chocolaty Meletti seems compatible with brown spirits. Or rum, of course.

Dan,

I would guess that EO is going for the Punt e Mes = Sweet vermouth + bitter thing which might give enough bitterness to make the Meletti act like Campari. I think Meletti is regional New York - we don't have it down here. I seem to remember it as honeyed.

I think it would be great as a Boulevardier riff.

Thanks,

Zach

I've tried this and I like it quite a bit, though I suspect you might find it too sweet as written. I'd say the sweetness is bit more than a Negroni made with Gran Classico and Cocchi vermouth di Torino, for example. The Meletti and Punt e Mes are delicious together. I tried this as a Boulevardier variation using Bulleit Rye, and it was good, but I prefer the more prominent amaro flavors in the gin version.

Delicious. I added a dash of wormwood bitters to offset the sweet Meletti a bit. Really good.

Rather jammy. Seasonally different than a Negroni.

I rather like this one (4/5, but would lean towards 4.5 if it were an option). It is sweeter than a Negroni, but that is likely by design rather than a flaw. The combo of Meletti and Punt e Mes provides sufficient bitters, and the sweetness doesn't regress to caramel or chocolate--more berry/grape/orange fruity instead. There is a slight rhubarb (?) tartness countering the fruit. The Plymouth seems to work well.

Scott,

I fixed the spelling of the Chartreuse, which might be the reason it wasn't coming up in the database search.

Thanks,

Zachary

This cocktail is shockingly well-balanced. A work of genius.

Clever clever clever. The Chartreuse fits in perfectly.

Made this with B&B instead of Benedictine (it’s all we had) and I think it mellowed it out a bit, not as sweet as others complained. Very herbaceous and sweet enough. It looked naked without some garnish so we added an orange peel twist, it complemented the herbaceousness!

I've seen comments about the sweetness level of the cocktail, and I can see how it can get a tad sweet for some tastes, but the key is to use an over proof rye like Rittenhouse 100 to help balance with a bit more alcohol.  Definitely dial back the benedictine and chartreuse to 1/4 or so if you are don't have an over proof rye on hand.

Swapped the Chartreuse for Suze and the dashes of Fernet with Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bitters. Strong and sweet drink, but not too sweet! Used Rittenhouse (100 proof) rye which I feel helped balance things.

This is very good. However, I didn’t like it with Rittenhouse (which others here recommended), even though Rittenhouse is a go-to rye for me. I found Knob Creek rye to work best. It lent a good amount of spice, and at once stood up to and melded nicely with the other boldly flavored spirits.

Presumably, that should be 2 dashes of bitters?

too sweet

Glenfiddich 18: straight is better. My opinion, off course...

David,

If you'd rather have the vinegar be correct (Sherry Vinegar, Blis IX), I can do that. Do you have a ratio and instructions for the blackberry infusion? I'll add it to the notes.

Thanks,

Zachary

I added sherry vinegar for this recipe

Hi David,

Thank you for posting this cocktail. I cleaned things up a bit - First, let me invite you to read the Style Guidelines, which are very helpful if you're learning how to input cocktails into the database correctly.

I did the following: removed "fresh squeezed" from the pineapple juice - we assume all juices are fresh. It makes the cocktail much easier for people to read if each ingredient is on one line, so I moved the instructions for the oleo-saccharum from the cocktail itself into the notes section. I made Cointreau a brand of Triple Sec instead of Curaçao. I removed most of the note from the white balsamic, which included the Old World Olive Press website. Finally, I cleaned up the instructions for making the drink. 

Thanks,

Zachary