Awesome, unusual, and non-intuitive. You would not think that the Maraschino and smoke would work together, but they definitely do.

Just made this with all Del Maguey mezcal, and even at that the maraschino tamed the smoke nicely and that maraschino funk came through. This is a noble sippah.

After getting into cocktails about six months ago, and keeping a log of everything I made, I wanted something special for my 100th drink.

The Crafty and Elusive Elk has an intriguing name and an exotic ingredient that I've never used before. Yesterday, I bought a bottle of Del Maguey Vida mezcal specifically for this (couldn't find Sombra).

I was not disappointed.

I'm craving another now.

I didn't have mezcal on hand so substituted Ardbeg Uigaedail to see what would happen. Can confirm that this is also delicious with single malt scotch.

This is just about my favourite cocktail of all, though Sombra isn't available in my market so I've have to make do with less assertive brands. Thanks for sharing it. We are not worthy.

Curated this somewhat: The noters were duplicated - one set was removed. Added a note to the Chartreuse to reference the infusion. Updated attribution, and a link to the recipe. 

Thanks. By the way, works nicely even with un-infused Chartreuse.

I feel so understocked, and this looks so good. I have american fruits sour cherry cordial and clear creek cherry liqueur. Would either of those work here? And no Burlesque bitters, but I have rhubarb...

Christina,

Do you have Luxardo cherries? Maybe 1 or 2 muddled into the Clear Creek would be the best approximation.

Thanks,

Zachary

I just made a batch of orgeat, and the cherry almond combination was calling to me. I had to do a lot of substituting: courvoisier cognac, clear creek cherry liqueur, and I used my spanish bitters since I don't have the burlesque. My approximation tastes pretty good, slightly bitter cherry with subtle almond in the background- though I'm curious to know if I'm even in the right flavor neighborhood at this point.

Christina,

The Burlesque bitters are more hibiscus + sour red fruit, maybe a bit of grenadine would work.

I really love this. Lots going on, but the overall effect is crisp and refreshing. Thank you for posting!

I've made this multiple times now (though I just serve it up), and would suggest starting with half the falernum and adding more to taste-I think half is sufficient. Also quite good with a little Luxardo maraschino instead of falernum.

Are you using Velvet Falernum or Falernum syrup? I liked it as written with Velvet Falernum, but I believe the syrup is stronger in flavor and sweeter. I clarified the recipe to use Velvet Falernum as mentioned in the reference.

I'd forgotten about this drink until I searched for something to make that would utilize my open chinato and falernum. Still love it. I did make it as a swizzle and have changed my mind about using half the falernum- it was too tart without. My rhum jm is running low and will be hard to replace, so I played around with a second version using lemonhart demerara and lime, which I like equally well. I have a feeling smith and cross would also be good

I sub'd Punt e Mes 3:1 with (rather oxidized) red wine for the chinato to good effect. Sensational cocktail.

Curated slightly to change Cointreau from a Curaçao to a Triple Sec, following the standard naming convention for Kindred Cocktails. When Curaçao was first made, there were "dry/sec" versions and "sweet/doux" versions (see here).

By the time Cointreau was invented in 1875, they claimed that they were "Triple Sec" - a new category that was seen to transcend the sec/doux of Curaçao. Other companies copied the Triple Sec language off the Cointreau label, and it was eventually dropped.

The problem is that today, the lines between Curaçao, orange liqueurs, and Triple Sec are blurred. But we tend to think of Cointreau as a Triple Sec.

Thanks,

Zachary

Good catch. The original recipe source just called for Cointreau, but when I tried to enter that as the ingredient on KC, it didn't like it because that's a brand name. When I saw Cointreau listed as one of the brands under the Curacao ingredient, I assumed that meant Curacao was the correct generic ingredient name. I'll try to remember this in the future, but another way to keep it from happening again with others would be to remove Cointreau from the pull-down list of specific brands when the chosen ingredient is Curacao.

Barsoom

Curated to improve attribution and add a substitution idea for Mistral aged pisco.

The pumpkin doesn't seem to do anything to this. All I get is lemony applejack.