Interesting drink! I thought it would be too sweet given the ratio of sweet to sour, but the bitterness balances everything out nicely. Fairly bitter, but also super-smooth. I'm a fan.

This is a fabulous cocktail -- a modern Hall of Fame contender. You have to get your head around the Italian amaro + tropical flavors juxtaposition. Once your mind settles down, it's a wonderful combination of flavors. The Smith & Cross is essential to have enough funk (and alcohol heat) to pull it off. It is a touch sweet, but even I (the hater of all overly-sweet drinks) love is as written. You could up the lime a bit, or scale back the Curacao, if desired.

Agree. It's my wife's absolute fave; I have to make it at least three times a week. Five stars all the way.

Tried this tonight, and really liked it. I'd agree that it's unbalanced toward the sweet side (Campari + orgeat + curacao is a lot of sweet!) - I think that the next try will be with 1/4 curacao and 1/4 Ango orange to cut the sweetness, which should also enhance the bitter of the Campari somewhat.

Thanks,

Zachary

A party hit! Just the right amount of bitter from the campari. I subbed out the curaçao with grand marnier.

I squooshed half a Meyer lemon in there, too...

Really nice. Tried it with both the campari and the cynar. Cynar version edged out the campari version in our household. I used Pierre Ferrand dry curacao as well. 

Good stuff. Made with Appleton Estate, PF dry curacao, and Gran Classico. For shaking I picked a couple pineapple sage leaves off my plant and threw them in the shaker.

Renamed and fixed swizzling time.

Uncompromising, unforgiving, delightfully smooth. This one really speaks to the part of me that's a former cannabis user, which may or may not make you happy. 4.5/5

Looks like a fizz riff on a Liberal... I'll have to try that. Two questions, though. First, if you've had Amer Picon (or a homemade version), could you sub it for the orange juice? Second, I've been looking at the Scrappy's Lime bitters... how are they?

It was very much fashioned off a Liberal. I definitely think you could sub the Amer Picon, though it would change the texture. I got the Lime bitters as a part of a Scrappy's set. I like them a lot - they remind me of the oil in a lime peel. I use them mostly to reinforce flavors already in the cocktail--and many of the other Scrappy's bitters function in the same way.

Lemon might need to be 3/4 oz - I'm fascinated by the way pineapple texturizes a drink... I also think you might be able to take this in a different direction subbing Peychauds for Regans' and a rinse of Pernod - think the whole faded violet/pastille accord.

1 ounce of Violette. Not teaspoon, not dash, not drop... I'm scared.

Dan,

You might need a full ounce of lemon, but I think it'd be more of a violet sour. CdV isn't that sweet, or at least the sweetness is rather transparent. I'd like your opinion of this and the Piña Ahumado as well. 

I tasted it warm with 1/4 oz Violette, prior to the egg and liked it. As written it is a bit flat. I think the egg white is homogenizing the flavors, which makes the 1 oz of Violette tolerable. Still, a sharper cocktail would be better, and I think acid fights an egg white's dampening effects. I might try skipping the egg white (although the texture is lovely) and scaling back the Violette, or really upping the lemon, or both. Note: I'm not a huge fan of Grandma's Perfume, so a little Violette goes a long way for me.

Dan,

Yeah, I think it needs 3/4 to an ounce of lemon. I also think the egg not only homogenizes the flavors, but interferes with your ability to taste sweet and sour flavors specifically. I do appreciate your trying the drink, especially considering your proclivities towards less sweet drinks.

This is now more harmonious. It loses a bit of the texture with the higher acid, the violet isn't as prominent, and it seems to push the gin forward. But it's a good drink in a fruit basket sort of way - lots of subtle aroma and flavor and it kind of has a raspberry accord from the cherry (Campari), pineapple, lemon and violet. Interesting.

This drink has such a unique flavor, and is 5 stars for me. The fruit and floral notes are nicely balanced by the Campari and lemon; each delicious ingredient contributes to an even greater final product. The end result is nuanced, layered, and harmonious. I used Voyager gin.

Christina, Glad you like it - gin, Campari and pineapple seem to be perfect matches for each other (in the way that dark rum, Cynar and lime are), but I struggle with both of those combinations - see The Riviera. It's also a great example of detailed commentary being useful. 

Since you like this, you might also try the Broken Shoe Shiner, from Beta Cocktails. 

Thanks,

Zachary

My to-try list keeps growing :) Thanks for the suggestions. I have always skipped over recipes that list pineapple juice, figuring they would be too sweet, but I sure did like the muddled pineapple, so I will keep an open mind.