1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Nardini Amaro
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 tsp Laphroaig Scotch
2 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Mole Bitters
Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe glass. Twist an orange peel over the top and discard.
Two Fridays ago, since we finally had all the ingredients to make it, we decided to concoct the Six Inch Gold Blade that appears in the Beta Cocktails book. The drink was created by Al Sotack of Philidelphia's Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. and was probably named after one of Nick Cave's early songs from the Birthday Party era. The two bottles we lacked until recently were Laphroaig Scotch and Nardini Amaro, and the only thing we needed was the right moment to take on a drink that appeared on the Franklin's challenging "I Asked Her For Water She Gave Me Gasoline" section of their menu.
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6 comments:
I really enjoyed this drink, but I love Nardini Amaro more - maybe my favorite amari of the 15-20 I've tried. I was thrilled to find it at Cirace's in the North End (where I also found bonded applejack, o happy day).
We finally found this at Atlas in Medford. I'm guessing that it had been unavailable for a few months; when I went down to NYC in September, Astor had a gap in their shelves where it should have been. We never made it to Cirace (we tried once on a Sunday when they are closed). I'll keep the bonded tip -- I ended up getting our current bottle at Astor.
I think Nardini has a shallow start but opens up rather well in a Benedictine sort of way. I could see filling in that gap by mixing a second amaro or a liquor that has a more robust sip aspect. I wonder how it would substitute in a Cocktail a la Louisiane.
They have a number of other amaro I've never seen elsewhere in MA, including Lucano (still haven't found cora, though).
The bonded applejack problem really drives me crazy, because it's available in MA, it's just that no one in the area chooses to carry it.
I always figured that the Laird's Bonded went away at times like Rittenhouse 100 does. We stock up when we find it. When we're running low, we'll sub a low end Calvados (like Morin Selection) and save the bonded for drinks that specifically call for it.
Not sure what new amaros I need but I should pay them a visit sometime soon.
I worked around a local lack of Nardini by using Zucca. I can now get it with Nardini, but I prefer the Zucca version. Whether that's habituation or something else, I can't tell you.
Zucca goes great with Campari and Scotch, so I can see that. Although I enjoy any recipe that makes me dust off my bottle of Nardini (I have had my bottle for almost 9 years and it'll probably still be around 9 years from now).
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