marchessa

1 oz Plymouth Gin
1 oz Amaro Nonino
1 oz Aperol

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

Last night after getting Indian food in Union Square, we went over to the Independent for a cocktail and dessert. Both Andrea and I spotted and tried the new drinks on the menu. She went with the Apple Jack Rabbit which was a Laird's Apple Jack sour sweetened with maple syrup. And I picked out the Marchessa which seemed like it should be the fourth part of the Flight of Heraldry. This series of drinks was created a few years ago at No. 9 Park by Ryan McGrale and John Gertsen and based on the Negroni. To follow the tale of Count Negroni, they created the Contessa for the count's wife and the Patrician for the count's imagined "bitter laborer".

Whether or not the Independent's creation is part of the tale of Count Negroni or not (or which Marchesa it refers to), the drink is equal parts, gin-based, and full of bitter liqueur flavors like the other three. And the one bartender Liam made me was quite tasty. The first sensation was the orange oils on the nose. Upon the sip, the Aperol's bitter orange-rhubarb flavors filled the mouth, and on the swallow, the Amaro Nonino's complex bitterness took over. The orange oil and the Aperol had a wonderful synergy as did the Aperol and the Amaro Nonino. The bite of the Amaro Nonino intriguingly transformed the Aperol such that the end result tasted something very similar to Campari.