darb cocktail

3/4 oz Dry Vermouth (Dolin)
3/4 oz Dry Gin (Aviation)
3/4 oz Apricot Brandy (Rothman & Winter)
4 dash Lemon Juice (1/4 oz)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
Last night as I was preparing potato gnocchi, Andrea was in the mood for an aperitif, so she picked the Darb Cocktail off of the Anvil's list. Another good reason for choosing the Darb Cocktail was that the recipe gave us a great excuse to try our new bottle of Aviation gin. We found the recipe in the Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) and were impressed that the drink has held its ground over the years to made it into the Food & Wine: Cocktails '09 book. Overall, the Darb Cocktail was rather delightful in its dry apricot flavor -- not only dry in sweetness but dry as in desiccated fruit flavor. In addition, the gin and vermouth provided a pleasing herbal complexity behind the fruit notes. Most notably, the Aviation gin donated sarsaparilla accents on the forefront and anise on the swallow of this cocktail. The gin also had juniper, coriander, lavender, and cardamom that were identifiable when tasted alone.