I didn't have any port, so I subbed Bonal Gentiane-Quina for now. This made a nice drink, lots of dried fruit flavors, some sweetness but not too much. I'll try it again with port as soon as I have some. The Cora strikes me as somewhere between Becherovka (without the dominant allspice flavor) and Averna...

I wish I could get both Cora and Meletti in Texas!

So thanks to the kindness of a stranger ;) I now have a bottle of Cora. This is definitely in the fall-and-winter set of cocktails. The ruby Port does get a bit lost up front, but contributes dried fruit tones to the midpalate. This shines on the finish, with lots of cream-coconut flavors and allspice that lingers. Maybe half Port and half Clear Creek cranberry liqueur next time? 

Thanks,

Zachary

Just as fair warning -- tobacco is incredibly dangerous to use in an alcohol extraction, especially without being able to tell how much nicotine you're extracting, and the LD 50 for nicotine is very low. Giving tobacco infused alcohol to non-smokers can cause all sorts of problems, as people unaccustomed to nicotine can react very badly to the stuff.

You're absolutely right, zach. You need proper guidance when experimenting with tobacco infusions. Snake oil makes a great tobacco bitters that is approved as food grade. Also extracting the flavor by actually distilling your own spirit is safe. Here is a great article I read that you might appreciate:

http://www.artofdrink.com/blog/nicotini-tobacco-infusions/

Sandy, I've heard of that, but don't have access to it. I really want to try the Ted Breaux "Perique", which again.... heard of, don't know if it exists. 

The article about tobacco references that AoD article, which is a great summation of the what people know about tobacco infusions. 

Thanks,

Zachary

There is a lot going on, the pepper is nice as complexity. Used buffalo trace bourbon which is already a little peppery, so that add to it.

Curated to tweak ingredient list to correspond to instructions and notes.

Curated to add Chase as a preferred brand. It does not appear to be imported into the US.

Well, I'm from Canada. But like I said, give it a try with St. Germaine and cut the Fernet to taste. I first made it with St. Germaine. I liked it better with Chase and it's cheaper, that's all.

Did this with a Hakushu 12 and a 10 YO tawny. Incredibly well balanced with a layer of smoke on top. A surprising combination of flavors that works incredibly well. Precision is key here. I went a touch heavy on the maraschino and it really affected the balance.

probably actually a 3.5. Nice balance, good smoke and the raisin-ey note from the port is cut nicely by the scotch. Tried with highland park 12 and a splash of Wee Beastie.

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<p>
This "Raging Bull" does not rage; it goes down oh so smoothly. By itself, Aquavit does not have a pleasant taste, but I knew from experience, tastes can be decieving. I used three top shelf ingredients (plus a surprise ingredient) to make this drink. Cabo Wabo anejo tequila, Linie Aquavit, and Averna, plus the orange zest made up the libation. It was great, with no one ingredient overwhelming the others. It went down very easily and smoothly.

But, on a hunch I added one other ingredient (my surprise ingredient). I added a dash of Bittermens Xocolatl Mole, which added subtle smoothness and depth. There was no chocolate overtone, but an additional dash would probably give it. With or without the bitters, I found this to be a great drink, and one I rated 4.5. Drink up, but drive responsibly. </p>

I took the Averna down to 3/4oz and bumped the aquavit to 1.5oz. Less sweet and a little more caraway forward.

Added some chocolate bitters and it was amazing. 

I tried this with Clement Rhum Agricole and Hardy Pineau des Charentes. It was good enough, but didn't wow me. I also tried cognac in place of the rhum agricole, and that was promising, a sidecar of sorts. Worth revisiting and tinkering a bit.

Drunklab recommended a very nice riff:

1 1/2 oz Bonal Gentiane Quina
3/4 oz Jamaican rum (Smith & Cross)
3/4 oz Rhum agricole
1/4 oz Lemon juice
1 d Bittermens Xocalatl Mole bitters
1 twist lemon

Very, very nice.

<a href="http://forums.egullet.org/topic/138481-bonal-gentiane-quina/?p=1969665"… reference</a>

That sounds delicious, but as much as I love Bonal, the Pineau is what makes this drink special, so it's really something else entirely and deserving of its own name .

Bonal has a Pineau-like base of lightly fermented grape must fortified with brandy, and some flavor notes in common with Pineau, but it's much more assertive, so my riff tastes quite different. I'm open to suggestions for a name.

I made this with Hardy Pineau and with Dusquene Rhum Agricole Blanc (100 proof). Will try it next with an aged Agricole but this balanced out perfectly for me.  Lean and even a little dry, I would say my result here with the Blanc is good enough that I would suggest others try it -- especially anyone who finds the original too sweet.