skid row

2 oz Genever (Bols)
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/2 oz Ramazzotti Amaro
1 dash Orange Bitters (Fee Brothers)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Flame an orange peel over the top of the drink and drop in.
A combination of receiving the new copy of Imbibe magazine and spotting a bottle of Ramazzotti for rather cheap at Atlas Liquors in Medford led us to making the Skid Row last night. The drink was created by Eric Alperin of The Varnish in Los Angeles for a Genever-based cocktail competition, and we got to see him in action at another cocktail competition at this past Tales of the Cocktail. Andrea picked this particular set of glassware for the etching visible at the back of the glass reminded her of the mohawk Eric sported for the latter competition. The Skid Row started with a toasty orange oil nose but not of sulfur like many flamed garnishes for we opted to use a lighter instead of matches. The apricot and the maltiness of the Genever seemed to reinforce each other, and the caramel taste in the Ramazzotti also played well with the malt flavors. The Ramazzotti brought some bitter complexity to the drink that was apparent in the swallow. And as the drink warmed up, there was a tingling or numbing sensation on the tongue which must have been due to the secret botanical that Piet Van Leijenhorst, the master distiller at Bols, alluded to at the Bols Genever release event.