Sadly, Hair of the Dog never materialized for Ran as the owners renegged on their offer to use the basement space for a bar. On the upside, he sunk all of his efforts into the Baldwin Bar in his family's restaurant and the rest is history.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/09/fancy-free-old-fashioned-var…

Suggests you stir in-glass with a large cube, and serve with orange twist garnish.

Death & Co. specs Rittenhouse rye for this.

"Colonel Kentucky" is hereby "Private Kentucky." For me, this drink is a drink in progress. Based on the comments, I used Maker's Mark and only 1/2 oz of Benedictine, and 3 dashes of Angostura bitters. I rated the drink at 2.5. The drink was flat in taste; everything could be tasted, but there was no pizzazz. Just blah!

Had I used 3/4 oz of Benedictine, the whiskey would have been overwhelmed, unless I used an overproofed whiskey. And I would definitely use 3, not 2, dashes of orange bitters. I will try my recommendations next time around, but my thinking on this recipe is that it deserves a 3.0 at best. But, the proof (as it were} is in the...!

The Fanciulli Manhattan is an interesting yet flawed drink, in my estimation. Why do I say this? I'm fond of all three ingredients, but when put together with the given recipe, the small amount of Fernet Branca overwhelms the other two ingredients. I used Maker's Mark bourbon and Dolin sweet vermouth for the other ingredients. The resulting cocktail I rated as 3.5.

My suggestion is to use either an overproof bourbon (such as Baker's or Basil's) or a bourbon with more overtones than Maker's Mark (such as Dickel's 8 year Tennessee sour mash, or Jim Beam black). The other alternative is to use a quality rye instead of the bourbon. For now, I'm calling the Fanciulli Manhattan a work in progress, and hope that with the changes I suggested, it will become a cocktail that will be rated consistently at a 4.0 or higher.

Curation note: I have updated this cocktail, correcting the name from "Fanciulli Manhattan" (not the name in sources) to Fanciulli while noting the proportions are a modern variation. I have added the Liquor.com link for a common variation w/2 oz of whiskey. The original recorded in 1931 had far more fernet, and could be either bourbon or rye. I have been experimenting with some of what claims to be the original fernet, Fernet Vittone (ca. 1842 vs. 1845 for Fernet Branca) and made a variation I like with 1.75 oz Bulleit Bourbon, 3/4 oz Cocchi di Torino, and 1/2 oz of Fernet Vittone. Fernet Vittone is drier, with a less aggressive flavor than the saffron/menthol of Fernet Branca.

(Made with pomegranate molasses for grenadine)

hm. I liked what is going on here - I'll probably do some fussing with the proportions.

on second thought: I like it just the way it is. I'll make this again.

Very lovely, floral drink with Plymouth Gin.  Going to try the next one with Beefeater 24...

Delicious, even when made with a rather strange looking lemon that I filched from my neighbor's tree.