Fallback
- 1 oz rye whiskey (Rittenhouse)
- 1 oz apple brandy (Laird's Straight Apple Brandy)
- 1/2 oz sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica)
- 1/2 oz Amaro Nonino
- 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
Combine ingredients in an un-chilled rocks glass. Carefully add a large ice cube and stir until chilled (about 10 seconds). Garnish with an orange twist.
We came across this delightful spirit-forward cocktail in The Cocktail Seminars though The Educated Barfly also demonstrates how he makes it. It was created by Sasha Petraske of Milk & Honey fame around 2012. There is some debate about whether it should be stirred with ice, strained and served up or over ice, or built in the glass and chilled by stirring with a large ice cube. I'm definitely in the build in the glass camp and don't stir it too much. It has a wonderful intensity as it slowly cools and dilutes. The debate could be settled by consulting the source of truth, Sasha Petraske's book Regarding Cocktails, but I'm sticking with build in the glass and stir just a little.
The rye and apple brandy make an excellent split base. While the recipe reads more like a modified Manhattan the effect is more reminiscent of an Old-Fashioned with the sweetness contributed by the vermouth and amaro. I find it impossible to separate the individual ingredients but they meld into spirited delight.