Tuesday, April 16, 2013

oldfield

2/3 Rye Whiskey (2 oz Sazerac 6 Year)
1/4 Fernet Branca (1/2 oz)
1 dash Benedictine (1/2 oz)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

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

Two Tuesdays ago for the cocktail hour, I honed in on the Oldfield that I spotted in Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933. The combination of rye, Fernet, and Benedictine reminded me of a Maraschino-less Down & Brown which proved to be quite delicious at Tavern Road. I first thought about interpreting the recipe as a 2 oz rye, 3/4 oz Fernet, and 1/4 oz Benedictine, but I decided to mellow out the Fernet Branca and make it equal parts with the Benedictine.
fernet branca rye cocktail
The Oldfield offered an orange oil aroma that brightened the herbal notes that were mostly from the Benedictine. Next, the sip offered up the malt and caramel richness, and the swallow rounded things off with the rye and a minty-menthol note. Overall, I was impressed at how the Benedictine's mint complemented the Fernet Branca's menthol on the finish.

2 comments:

Thatguy69 said...

What is the actual recipe you have a dash equal to 1/2 oz and what is the rye measurement? 2/3 of an oz?

frederic said...

The book often has things as a pour of spirits with modifiers. It needs to be reinterpreted to make it balanced and palatable in many cases. The 2/3 is like most of the drink build. There wasn't much reason to make the drink if it was just a Toronto with a dash of Benedictine since that liqueur would have almost no effect, so I brought it up to a 1:1 with Fernet which appears in some modern recipes such that the Benedictine modulates the Fernet.