caricature cocktail

1 1/2 oz Gin (Beefeater)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi Vermouth di Torino)
3/4 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
Tuesday last week, we started the evening off with Gary Regan's Caricature Cocktail that I found in his Bartender's Gin Compendium; the drink is his tribute to artist Jill Degroff who has drawn caricatures of many famous bartenders in the industry. While the recipe reminded me of the Jasmine and Lucien Gaudin cocktails, Gary based the drink in 2001 after Dale Degroff's Old Flame which was quite fitting for a tribute to Dale's wife.

Old Flame
• 1 oz Bombay Dry Gin
• 1/2 oz Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth
• 1/2 oz Cointreau
• 1/4 oz Campari
• 1 1/2 oz Orange Juice
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a flamed orange twist. From Dale Degroff's The Craft of the Cocktail.

The Caricature Cocktail initially offered an orange and juniper aroma that later gained blood orange-like notes from the Campari entering the picture as the drink warmed up. The vermouth's grape joined the citrus notes from the orange liqueur and grapefruit on the sip, and the swallow began with Campari softened by the Cointreau and finished with the gin botanicals.