Rene Barbier

1 oz Cognac

1 oz Sweet vermouth, Carpano Punt e Mes

1⁄2 oz Curaçao, Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao

1⁄2 oz Campari

2 ds Bitters (Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters were what I used)

1 twst Lemon peel (As garnish)

Instructions

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon oil from a twist (or the whole twist)

History

When I attended Gary Regan's Cocktails in the Country retreat in 2015, I had my turn making drinks for everyone during the Organized Chaos session. In my 20 minute time block, I came up with 5 or 6 drinks on the spot with this one being my favorite, and it started by spying the bottle of Camus Cognac on the shelf. The direction I took was inspired by the Lucien Gaudin for I paired Campari with curaçao. In the Negroni-variation vein, I also thought of Phil Ward's 2005 Cocktails in the Country drink, the Cornwall Negroni that had Punt e Mes and bitters in the mix. For a name, I stuck with the Lucien Gaudin concept and dubbed this one after another fencer, Rene Barbier -- a Frenchman who medalled in the 1928 Olympics. I did not take down tasting notes during the melee, but I do recall Gaz commenting that "this is my sort of drink!"

Cocktail summary

Created by

Frederic Yarm, Loyal Nine, Cambridge, MA as created at Painter's Tavern in Cornwall on Hudson, NY.

Year

2015

Is the

author's original creation

Reference

https://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2015/05/rene-barbier.html

Curator

Not yet rated

Average

4 stars

(19 ratings)

Cocktail Book

From other users

Awesome! Used Angostura bitters

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Comments

Very good with high proof cognac, grand marnier and angostura. 5 stars.

Tasty! It's overall boozy, but with some lift from the curacao and enough bitterness from the Campari to balance the sweet vermouth.

Cloyingly sweet. The Campari and lemon struggle in vain against the double whammy of curacao and sweet vermouth. If you like your Manhattan with two cherries, this might fit your palate.

I could see how if you used sweet vermouth instead of Punt e Mes that it would be sweet. Otherwise, it was Gary Reagan approved and has made a bunch of folks happy with nary a complaint about sweetness. True, not as dry as the Lucien Gaudin that was the inspiration.

The cocktail is certainly not cloying. The combination of Campari & Punt e Mes keeps the bitter profile front and center. I noted the result in the drink overall as "semi-sweet/semi-bitter" because neither dominates. I wonder if the other poster used a rather sweet triple sec/curacao rather than Pierre Ferrand, which is one of the drier offerings (although with still notable sugar, something like 180 - 200 g/liter depending on the source of the info.) Sweeter curacaos run in the 250-300+ g/liter range.

Interestingly, Punt e Mes is listed as 220 g/liter sugar while Dolin Sweet Vermouth is only 130 g/liter and Carpano Antica is similarly in the 130+ range. However, Punt e Mes has a more assertive bitter backbone and doesn't seem that sweet. For comparison, Campari is quite bitter but has 250 g/liter of sugar. As with acidity, bitterness counters sweetness, making the raw sugar content seem less than it is.