I made this as written, using Clear Creek Pear Brandy and Carpano Antica. I would cut the Allspice Dram back by at least half next time, as it really takes over, and also increase the vermouth.

I followed Christina's advice and made it with 1/4 oz allspice and 1/2 oz vermouth (half Punt e Mes and half Antica Formula). Made this way it was good but dominated by the fruit from the spirits, especially at the sip, with the spice and wine from the vermouths and liqueur showing up mainly in the finish along with a sharp kick from the apple brandy. I used Laird's bonded rather than Calvados, which may have changed the drink's character. I liked it, but would probably cut back on the pear next time and try it with a mellower, oakier apple brandy.

Enjoying one right now, made per the recipe, though I substituted angostura bitters for the old fashioned bitters....  Surprising how much the pear sings out. Lovely Christmasy cocktail taste tho.  Will add to the Holiday rotation.

Based on previous comments, went with 1.5 oz Laird's bonded, 1/2 vermouth and 1/4 allspice dram. Spicy, fruity, boozy. Tempted to try splitting the calvados/laird's with rye for a less fruity drink, but this is definitely festive. Don't overlook the cracked ice and 30 second stirring, as it benefits from dilution. 

If you find the original too fruity/spicy, try splitting the calvados with rye. I did, using the 1/4 allspice, 1/2 vermouth ratio, and the rye added nuance and damped down some of the more dominant flavors. 

Yum. I just snapped a decent pic of it, if you'd like to post.

Sure. Send it my way!

in Peru they always add a dash of cinnamon after pouring--it really brings out the spicier notes in the Pisco

I made my inaugural batch tonight with a bit more simple syrup (nearly 1 oz) & full egg white (different recipe). This was a little to the sweet side, so next time I will back off to 3/4 oz of 1:1 simple syrup. The key to this drink was the Amargo Chuncho (not Angostura). I just received it today, and when I wafted its mildly floral/citrus blossom I recognized it would be a better topping on the egg white foam than Angostura. I wanted a little of this in the liquid too, so I put ~4 drops in the mixing glass for a very pleasing (5 star) result. My wife is a fan of some other Pisco drinks and approved.

I don't know if Chuncho bitters were in the originals as some claim, but as a Peruvian cocktail using locally sourced Peruvian limon and Pisco, it is logical that Peruvian bitters would have been used in early versions. In this drink, the very small amount of bitters add a great deal to the aroma, so I suggest listing Amargo Chuncho as recommended or giving it equal weight as a choice for the bitters.

I think this was originally a recipe from Jamie Boudreau in Seattle.

http://spiritsandcocktails.wordpress.com/2007/08/13/mxmo-orange/

Thank you for pointing this out. I've corrected the recipe and updated the attribution.

This is very nice. Is it your creation?

I'm not sure where I got this. I probably was from an online forum.

It looks like this is a variation of a Duplex. I stumbled upon this- I wonder if this is where you saw it too: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/636481. In any case, it is a lovely drink that I keep coming back to with various modifications...

I don't know, but probably. I'll give DavisSqPro credit.

<br />The Duplex is an enjoyable drink, and its wonderful taste is in the simplicity of the drink itself. There are only two major ingredients, the Lillet Blanc and the Punt e Mes. Period. The other two ingredients may seem to play a somewhat minor role, but they are essential to the drink's pleasantness. The orange bitters (I used Fee Bros West Indies Orange Bitters, which has a somewhat more distinctive taste than the usual Regan's or Angostura Orange Bitters) and the lemon peel add additional flavors and more complexity to this drink. The Duplex can, in my opinion, be imbibed in a hot afternoon, or before dinner, or after dinner. It is a light, somewhat complex tasting, yet versatile drink.

refreshing and tasty like a Picon punch -- I'll probably fiddle with ingredients. I topped it with a short blast of soda water for texture, and a little astringency.

Curated to move brands from notes to Brands (Fee's, Noilly Prat, Partida)

I had this first at Brick & Mortar in Cambridge, Massachusetts (Misty Kalkofen's place) but it was mezcal instead of tequila and it was 1:1:1 mezcal, vermouth (perfect as here), and campari.

I make the mezcal version of this at home with Gran Classico instead of Campari and it is among my very favorite cocktails in this modified form.

This recipe seems under-rated. I wonder if it is the ratio or if people are using cheap/terrible sloe gin?

There are, at least, three types of cocktails that vye for the "Blackthorn" name. Sloe berries are the fruit of the Blackthorn tree & this concoction is probably the one that should have the title [though other have (humorously) proposed Irish whiskey-based concoction being credible due to where Blackthorn trees are grown].

This recipe dates to pre-1926 [when it appeared in Bolton's Sideboard]. Dave Arnold's recipe [1.5 oz Plymouth/0.75 sweet vermouth/0.75 sloe gin/2 dashes bitters] is better-balanced than this version.

<br />I tried the revised "Blackthorn English" recipe submited by commentor noksagt. I used Plymouth Gin, Hayman's Sloe Gin, Dolin sweet vermouth, and Bitter Truth's aromatic bitters. Personally, I did not find this particular cocktail to be well balanced. I don't know whether Hayman's sloe gin is considered a better brand, but I thought it overwhelmed the rest of the ingredients. If I were to make this libation again, I would probably turn to Cinzano's sweet vermouth, which has pronounced fruity overtones thatmay soften the sloe gin. Also, noksagt did not specify the type of bitters to us; in the future I will probably fall back on orange bitters. Regardless, I rated noksagt's suggested version of "Blackthorn English" at 3.0.

So this was one of those original drinks on KC that I  ran across and saw it was in need of fixing. The earliest I can trace this back is to a 1901 private "Sideboard for Gentlemen" published for the St. Boltoph's Club in Boston, MA. It's been around since 1880 and had members including Henry Cabot Lodge, Francis Parkman and Phillips Brooks (who wrote the lyrics to O Little Town of Bethlehem). Thanks,  Zachary

Curated to correct recipe and attribution as per http://www.cocktailchronicles.com/2006/08/01/test-pilot/

YUM!! This is such a great drink, the absinthe is rendered unrecognisable but brings out the cinnamon flavour of the falernum, how is that possible? I don't know but it sure is tasty! Also don't go flying any planes after one of these, this sucker's strong!