A bit sweet for my taste. The Vergano Americano is a touch mild-mannered. I added a 1/2 oz of lime (although maybe lemon would have better) and like it more.

I haven't opened my bottle of Vergano Americano yet. I was hoping for a less expensive but equally good alternative to Cocchi Barolo Chinato- maybe this isn't it. I'll probably start with half the cointreau when I get to trying this, as that ingredient takes over pretty quickly for me. A little citrus does sound good too.

I finally opened my Vergano Americano so I could make this. Sadly, all I taste is rum and cointreau, which is a shame because the Chinato itself is delicious. Much wiser to make the Campari Swizzle (thank you Dan!), or just mix it with some gin and maybe a bit of lime.

There's another drink in the database called Dark House that's attributed to Ken Arbuckle and has the exact ingredients and ratios. I'd love to know who actually came up with the drink and what the true name is.

Stew,

Crazy - Morgenthaler's drink (from the citation) was sometime before June 1,2009. If the Kenny that posted the Dark House is Ken Arbuckle, maybe he'll see this and clarify things.

Thanks,

Zachary

I can't get over how well Old Monk pairs with apple cider.

Great drink! We liked it a bit better with equal parts bourbon and apple cider.

I feel like it needs a little spice to cut the cough-syrupiness of the sloe gin, like if you cut the amount of Cynar by half and add the same amount of Punt e Mes. Will try that.

What sloe gin are you using? I find the Plymouth pretty far from cough syrup.

OK, you got me. Not Plymouth. I'll have to give it a try with that, too.

I haven't tried it, but The Bitter Truth also makes a good one -- reportedly a bit more bitter than Plymouth. I'm not familiar with any others that are worth drinking. The Plymouth sloe gin is a challenging flavor -- definitely not like cherry cough syrup.

Plymouth and TBT are the good ones, with TBT being more bitter. Like most things, cheap sloe gin is bad sloe gin - they're usually flavored instead of infused, and full of sugar.

Thanks,

Zachary

This sounded interesting, but I think it really needs some acid. May give it a try again next time I am stumped by what to do with my sloe gin; I used the Bitter Truth.

Throw?

Tasty - just the thing after a steampunk convention. I got a taste of coconut from somewhere.

Watching one of my favourite barmen make this, I suspect 'throw' means pour from one glass/shaker to another a couple of times.

Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, you are right re: "throw" I think some people use "roll" too?? Guess it's the halfway point between stirring or shaking.

I love a good bourbon or rye drink, and this one is very drinkable. It's a good "after work but before dinner" drink. And it's one that is great in the evening after dinner. I'm not sure why the small amount of bourbon--maybe just to appease bourbon drinkers. Regardless, it's a great drink and one that deserves to become a favorite across the U.S.

Addendum: It's several months later, and I decided to try the "Rusty Automaton" again--only now with a little more Bourbon. This time I added 1/4 oz of Jim Beam black label. If my memory is correct, the drink is a tad better with a tad more Bourbon. As much as I enjoy Bourbon, I believe more than !/4 oz Bourbon is asking for trouble. Right now, both the Rye and the Bourbon come through; but with a greater amount of Bourbon, the rye's taste would be compromised. Originally I rated this cocktail at 4.0, but with the small increase in Bourbon (from 1/6 oz to 1/4 oz), I now rate the "Rusty Automaton" at 4.5. Enjoy this and other cocktails, but drink responsibly.