2 oz Eagle Rare Bourbon3/4 oz Grand Marnier
1/2 oz Fernet Branca
1/2 oz Luxardo Maraschino
2 dash Regan's Orange Bitters
Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
For my second cocktail at the Grand Marnier event at Drink, I asked Josey Packard to make me the Root of All Evil. This drink was created by Jeff Grdinich of the White Mountain Cider Company (Bartlett, NH) as his take on Chuck Taggart's Hoskins. Besides switching the base spirit from gin to bourbon, Jeff replaced the sweet orange and bitter orange flavors from Cointreau and Amer Picon, respectively, with Grand Marnier and Fernet Branca to simulate the flavors.
On the sip, my taste buds sensed a lot of orange and complex bitter and mentholly flavors on the sip fading into the Maraschino cherry notes on the swallow. The bourbon and perhaps the Grand Marnier gave the drink a bit more richness than I remember a Hoskins having. When Andrea tried my drink, she specifically commented on the mint and chocolate flavors most likely from the Fernet Branca. It was definitely interesting to see how Jeff uses Fernet Branca and Grand Marnier to approximate Amer Picon while Eastern Standard uses Luxardo Fernet, Cynar, and Clement Creole Shrubb to do the same.
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5 comments:
Mixed this one tonight, with Overholt subbing in for the bourbon. I like it a lot. Nothing I'd drink regularly, but still, quite good.
Been subbing the bourbon for rittenhouse and old overholt as well.
It's been a toss-up between this and the viex carre` as my nightly drink.
Tried this last night and liked it quite a bit (Jim Beam, Gran Gala). I added 1/4 oz Lemon to balance the sugar -- a huge improvement to my taste. I too thought that I'd try it with Rye next time. Thanks!
Yeah, there's a healthy slug of orange liqueur in there that is only balanced by the the strength of the other spirits. Not sure how Gran Gala compares, but Grand Marnier can be awfully sweet in some drinks.
Try subbing Combine for the Grand Marnier. It has a little more bite and less sweetness. Elijah Craig worked nicely for the bourbon.
Either way it's had, this is a GREAT cocktail.
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