This sounds lovely. Finger Lakes Distilling Cherry Liqueur is also less complex / fresher than Cherry Heering, and less sweet too. Alas, I think it is only available in New York State at this point. I'm looking forward to trying this. It seems like a fruity Manhattan, in an circuitous sort of way. (I took the liberty of adding Combier Rouge as a bona fide ingredient.)

Rob,

This looks interesting -- which Calvados do you recommend, and does it achieve balance through the bitterness of the Vermouth?

Thanks Dan! Seriously, when I first sampled the Combier Rouge at Cirace in the North End it struck me with its freshness along with good cherry umami. I was impressed.

Truth to tell, I used "Originel" brand calvados that I bought today from Bauer on Newbury St because the price was right. It is rather fruit-forward and a more complex (and pricier) calvados might be more pleasing. I bought the Dolin from Bauer today as well, and I made this cocktail with the Dolin in mind. I wouldn't use Noilly Prat for this. Using Lillet blanc would make the drink fruitier and perhaps a bit flaccid; I'd definitely recommend using Cocci Americano as an alternative. The balance to me comes more through the herbal mix than from any bitter aspect, though I might try this sometime with cranberry or Burlesque bitters for fun.

Rob,

Ah... ok. I've got the Germain Robin apple brandy and Familie Dupont 86 vintage Calvados, which might scare some of those other ingredients into submission ;) I wonder if I can convince my likker store to carry the Combier stuff?

As for the calvados, scare away! And I was lucky to have found the Combier Rouge here in Boston at Cirace in the North End. If you're elsewhere, I'd advise you to ask about it. I'm an avowed cherry fiend, love making cherry shrub at home in season. That fresh/umami cherry taste is hard to beat.

Rob,

If you put your finger in the middle of a map of Texas, you'll be close to where I live. But I'm going to make an effort to track down that Combier.

Hey Rob - nice sounding cocktail, I was just in the midst of working with apple brandy and dry vermouths (tho specifically Laird's BIB and Cocci Americano) and was wondering what others might have come up with. Definitely gonna give this one a try, but the only cherry I've got is Heering

Hi VM, try this with Heering if you can't find Combier Rouge but turn up the Dolin a little to keep the brightness of this drink. And lobby your packie for the Combier Rouge! I'm a true fan of the stuff.

Make this with Hayman's Royal Dock Navy-strength Gin, Cocchi Americano, and Salers Aperitif Gentiane Liqueur in lieu of Suze. Quite nice, although a bit sweet, and much less bitter than a regular Negroni. I would reverse the Lillet / Suze ratio next time for a somewhat drier and more bitter balance, or consider splitting the Cocchi Americano with dry vermouth.

Is the salers worth getting? I saw Frederick said it was better than Suze, but I haven't had that yet so I'm unclear...

I haven't had Suze, but I'm enjoying it. Mixed it with gin and lemon tonight for a nice bitter-tinged cocktail.

Actually this drink was created by Wayne Collins as verified with him & Audrey Saunders, and as attributed in the PDT cocktail book.

Thanks for the update. Changed the gin amount from 1.5 to 2 oz to reflect the PDT book. Added date and corrected originator information from Pegu Club to Wayne Collins.

I made this tonight as follows: 1 oz St. George Rye Gin, 1 oz Dolin Dry, 1/2 oz Cocchi Americano, 1/2 oz Suze, 5 drops Bittermens Hopped Grapefruit bitters. Stir/strain/up. There's an oily pineapple note to the gin that made me think of enhancing it with the Cocchi, and the Dolin and Suze play well together.

The variations(s) we like best are:

2 parts gin (London dry-ish)
1 part Suze OR Aveze OR Salers
1 part Kina l'Avignon d'Or OR Bianco vermouth OR Cocchi Americano OR Lillet Blanc

Stir with ice, strain into a chilled coupe, garnish with a lemon peel.
The different aperitifs make for nice variations.

<p>
Goodness! For a drink with only three ingredients, this cocktail has generated a lot of comments. Well, let me add one more. I used 2 oz of a topshelf gin, 1 oz of Cocchi Americano, and 1 oz of Salers. Based on earlier comments, I had a hunch the resulting drink would be on the sweet side, which it was. So I did one simple thing that I did not see mentioned in any of the comments, but which I thought would take away some of the excess sweetness: I used a good-sized lemon twist. Sure enough, the expressed lemon oil from the twist did the trick. So, my suggestion is, regardless of how much you put in of whatever it is, finish up with a good-sized lemon twist. You'll be surprised at the positive difference it'll make in the drink.</p>

Having played around with different recipes, I'm prepared to assert that this drink -- as a Negroni variation -- works best with Dolin Blanc, not Lillet or Cocchi Americano. (Not Dolin Dry, to be clear!)

If you're a Negroni purist and stick to the 1:1:1 recipe, then I think doing the same here  (1 gin, 1 Suze, 1 Dolin Blanc) is a reasonable (and enjoyable) sibling. Personally, I'm skeptical of Negroni recipes which increase the gin proportion, but I'll say that dialing back the Suze here isn't a crazy idea. That will be a later experiment.

I mean, the Suze can be pretty assertive, but let's face it: Campari in the basic Negroni recipe is pretty assertive too (and that's what I like about it).

It bothers me slightly that white negronis are vibrantly yellow (like Suze).  Good drink, though.

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...!