Drinking this now. Made with Punt e Mes and Siete Leguas Blanco instead of the Vida. This is seriously bitter, obviously. I feel it's a bit unbalanced - I'd love some absinthe or lemon juice to layer out the bitterness. It also seems a bit on the sweet side, and my tolerance for sweet is probably middle of the road. Maybe 1/4 Demerara syrup and 1/4 lemon juice would be better?

Blanco vs. Vida is going to change the drink enormously. That said, I almost always cut Demerara measurements in half, and feel it is appropriate. This isn't a mind-blowing drink or anything (I gave it three stars in my notes), but I think it's an interesting attempt at a bitters-heavy drink - and unique because of the mezcal. With vida, the smokiness helps to balance the bitterness. I can't get Siete Leguas here (sadly - I hear it's excellent), but blancos just don't have the same oomph at .5 ounces.

Come down here and we'll drink some Siete Leguas - it's pretty stunning Tequila. I actually have a bottle of crazy Mezcal waiting for me back in Houston - I have a bartender friend who mules things over the border for me.

I also wonder if a dash of Ango orange would brighten this up.

Thanks,

Zachary

Meehan's Bartender Manual (p. 363) specs the vermouth as Vya sweet (and suggests Cocchi Vermouth di Torino as a good option) and Luxardo maraschino.

There is a negative synergy within this drink.

"Negative synergy" is a good summary of Newark proper.

A very nice cocktail. I wondered if the Fernet Branca would be too assertive, but it was just right, sensibly extending the flavor profile without turning it to menthol. I used Maraska Maraschino Liqueur which played well with the others.

I have now retried this with Letherbee Fernet (and Maraska maraschino liqueur). This is even better than with Fernet Branca, more of a 4.5/5. Letherbee provides a better connection between parts, while slightly dialing down the intensity of Fernet Branca. Works well with a plate of pasta puttanesca. (Letherbee is a good intro to fernet, providing a gateway for Fernet Branca, vastly better than Fernet Vallet which is rather bland.) I am developing an affinity for Laird's Apple Brandy as a base spirit as it can bridge the gap with assertively herbal amaro and fernets. Note: I haven't tried Vya vermouth for this...and I live nearby and have used their Moscato wines for some vino aperitif recipes of my own.

Amazing.

Published in the 2009 Rogue Cocktails book so the year needs to be changed from 2010.

Date adjusted, thanks!

Light curation: rephrased the instructions and history to avoid copyright infringement.

Very refreshing. Made with Aperol. Next time will try with Campari. Highly recommend.

The rosemary garnish is delicious, but this drink is really sweet. I added 1.5 oz gin, which helped some. If I were to try again, I would probably just make a Bitter Elder with rosemary added...

I made these last night using blood orange juice instead of lime juice. More intense color, different perfume. Altogether very interesting.

I am going to give this recipe a try with a rosemary tincture in lieu of substituting gin to 'beef' it up. Haha, but a London dry would be all wrong anyway. I would consider dumping some Hendricks or an Old Tom in there but any gin is going to overpower the subtle notes of the Aperol and StG's. a tincture is pretty harsh too but a few drops of one seasoned with rosemary should do just the trick.

I will try small versions all three ways and proffer some reflections.

I tried the original recipe in a half portion and it was way too sweet and sour in alternating doses.

I used an ounce of Hendricks (half ounce) on the variation and found it to be a delightful drink. However, it was similar to a Negroni with more sweet and less bitter in the aftertaste (this is obviously discounting the tones of rosemary that make is markedly different in aroma). The real problem was this: the drink didn't taste much like a 'sour' anymore with the gin. It was a good drink but an entirely different one.

Using the half measures again, I made a version and used sweetened lime juice (in lieu of fresh squeezed in the others) and 2 ml of rosemary tincture and no garnish. It was easily the best of the three and still had a flavoring in keeping with the drink's name. The sweetened lime juice gave it that nice 'sour' feel and fortified the mixture against the introduction of 50-60% alcohol tincture (I used equal parts water and everclear for the recipe).

Finally, I celebrated my tweak with a regular sized version:
1 1/2 oz Aperol
3/4 oz St. Germain
3/4 oz Rose's Sweetened Lime
3 ML of Rosemary Tincture

shaken well in ice and strained into a chilled coup then garnished with a small sprig of rosemary (no need to slap). It was fantastic and I will be making this for friends soon enough to get their thoughts.

I used my usual sour ratios and made it less sweet and, to my palate, more delicious .

Try:

2oz Aperol

1oz Lime juice

.5oz St Germain

It was good, but a bit sour. I added 1/4 oz. Kirschwasser and that boosted it to a 4 star for me.

Di likes

Very good drink, but like so many drinks with St. Germain​, you only need about half of what the recipe calls for, IMO. It's delightful stuff, but it's insanely sweet.

Made this with half the amount of St Germain. It's the perfect balance of grapefruit, floral elderflower, and alcohol bite, though I'd use a London Dry Gin over alternatives

Agree, doubling all ingredients other than elderflower, it's quite tasty!

Was way too much of the liqueurs with such a small amount of sparkling wine. Adding more of the latter made it a bit better but was still a bit powerful. I used Golden Moon's creme de violette, which I like better but is weaker than Rothman & Winter, and it still was too much. I'd say 1/4 of each, at least 2 oz of bubbles, and a dash less of lavender.

Curated slightly: found a working link for the source.