saratoga (variant)

1 oz Rye
1 oz Punt e Mes
1 oz Brandy
3 dashes Boker's Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with a brandied cherry.

Scott made me this as my last drink at Rendezvous on Tuesday. He followed the rye Diablo with a slight variant of a mid-1800's recipe called the Saratoga. The original drink is made with sweet vermouth, a lemon slice (sometimes interpreted as a twist), and 2 dashes of Angostura bitters instead of the spicier Punt e Mes, cherry, and Boker's bitters. The only ingredient note that I have is that the rye was Old Overholdt, but I never asked which brandy he used. The Punt e Mes made up for the Old Overholdt's smoother, less spicy nature in comparison to other ryes. Either way, the drink is rather solid and has many similarities to a Manhattan in proportions.

Typing out the drink recipe did remind me of another cocktail that I have not had in a while, the Vieux Carré, which is essentially a Saratoga with New Orleans flare. Scratch the lemon and instead add Benedictine and Peychaud's bitters.