I made major substitutions for this; I used Sazerac, I used Highland Park 12, I'm never going to stock Lactart, so I used 1/2 tsp Lime Juice, and I'm not setting anything on fire. Despite all of that, I'm here to say this is a truly elevated whiskey experience and I conceptually highly recommend it.

Lactart has been difficult to find, so I worked around the problem by making my own. I ordered a 4 oz bottle of lactic acid solution (88%), and made a small bottle diluted to 10% using distilled water--which is the strength found in the Emil Hiss recipe from 1897. I haven't tested it in this drink yet.

PUNCH published a slightly different recipe substituting blanco tequila for the sotol: http://punchdrink.com/recipes/the-brave/

Rafa,

Yeah, but Punch is wrong ;) The Sotol makes the drink.

Thanks,

Zachary

Ha. I'll have to try it with the Sotol then. I keep hearing great things about this drink from Texan friends.

I wonder if they did that because it's hard to get sotol in many places, similar to why the NYT published the Oaxaca Old Fashioned with Ango instead of mole bitters.

What an odd name for a cocktail. It turns out that "Dor" is Gaelic for turd. So there you have it: Turd flinger!

On a more serious note, I considered the ratios of the ingredients, and decided to be cautious about how much Absinthe to use. I chose St George's Terroir Gin, knowing it could stand up to the absinthe. For the absinthe, I picked St George's Absinthe Verte (by the way, St George's products are outstanding).

I poured 2 oz gin, but only 1/4 oz Absinthe. The gin came through, as did the Absinthe (but lightly so). I added 1/8 oz, and perfecto! I then added two dashes of Fee Bros' gin-barrel aged Orange Bitters (a relatively new product). Not enough, so I added two more dashes. Better, but it needed a sharper citrus taste. I used an orange twist; not enough (maybe flame it next time), and then used a lemon twist. Home at last!

The final recipe I suggest for 'Dorflinger' is: 2 oz of gin, 3/8 oz absinthe, 4 dashes orange bitters (might consider lemon bitters), one orange twist, and one lemon twist. I rated the cocktail between 3.0 and 3.5. Worth making and drinking. Some, however, may prefer a lighter hand on the Absinthe, use only 1/4 oz. Personally, I caution against using more than 1/2 oz absinthe; all of the other tastes will be swallowed up.

Needless to say, I will be tinkering with this libation over the next several weeks (e.g., I will try a softer gin, such as Tanqueray Ten). Meanwhile, drink and enjoy, but drink responsibly.

Note: Considering that I totally revamped the "Dorflinger" recipe, from top to bottom, I have named my version of "Dorflinger," as "Dorflinger Revisited.

Delicious. Perfect balance of sweet and strong, and the absinthe just adds more character and depth. Tried this a bit ago just after wrapping up MxMo Tiki Theme. 5 stars.

best pineapple tiki drink I've found so far

This is such a nice drink if you like cocktails with sherry, which mixes very nicely with Cardamaro and Genever. I've subbed Farigoule thyme liqueur for the St. Germain, and Dimmi for the St. Germain when I had a sweeter sherry open (Lustau East India Solera). It is flexible and really delicious.

Orgeat (1/4 oz is enough) in place of the St. Germain is a really nice sub in this drink

I second the orgeat suggestion. Very tasty! To be fair, I haven't tried it with St. Germain yet, but I will!

Interesting drink.  It's old fashioned for the first half second, then the habanero kicks in and lingers.  I love habanero flavor, but it takes some getting used to in drink form.  First time I've had one that tasted like this.  Definitely worth trying.