Thursday, January 19, 2012

mexican turnover

1 1/2 oz Añejo Tequila (Siete Leguas)
3/4 oz Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/4 oz St. Germain

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

After the Pimmeron, I opened up the Cocktail Collective book and spotted a drink that was very similar to Craigie on Main's Libretto called the Mexican Turnover. While the Libretto had sweet vermouth and chocolate bitters, this drink created by Jacob Grier contained dry vermouth, an orange twist, and a little less St. Germain. Otherwise, the two recipes were very similar in proportion, but as it turned out, they came across in very different ways.
On the nose, Andrea detected orange and Cynar notes and I got orange and tequila ones at first with Cynar aromas once the drink warmed up. The Mexican Turnover's sip presented a pleasant white wine note with the St. Germain adding to its fruit aspect; later, as the twist infused into the drink, orange notes began to appear here as well. Next, the combination of tequila and Cynar on the swallow led to a savory, herbal finish. Compared to the Libretto, the Mexican Turnover was less full bodied since it lacked the robustness of Carpano Antica, and it seemed more herbal due to the dry vermouth and perhaps less St. Germain in the mix. Furthermore, the drink's orange twist brought out a brighter and fruitier focus to the drink compared to the darker, richer ones from the Libretto's chocolate bitters.

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