flora's own

1/4 Drambuie (3/4 oz)
1/4 Dry Gin (3/4 oz Beefeater)
1/2 Dry Vermouth (1 1/2 oz Noilly Prat)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
Last night's book perusing brought me back to the Café Royal Cocktail Book for another Drambuie recipe. The last one I made from there was the rum and sherry-rific Golden Heath and it was a success, so I was confident to try another of their recipes. While I had the Flora's Own as a nightcap, the half portion of dry vermouth would suggest that it would make an excellent aperitif cocktail. The only variance I made with the recipe was the addition of a lemon twist. The drink looked lonely without it and besides, citrus oils generally complement gins and vermouths. The drink's nose was filled with Drambuie's honey which worked rather well with the lemon oil. On the sip, the honey sweetness mixed with vermouth's wine flavors reminded me a lot of a bianco vermouth. Following that, botanicals from the gin, vermouth, and perhaps Drambuie appeared on the swallow. I was surprised at how magnificently the Drambuie and Noilly Prat dry vermouth paired up especially with that sharp note that is present in the "new" Noilly Prat opposed to the old American version they discontinued. The best way to describe the Flora's Own would be placing it in half way between a Martini and a Manhattan (or Rob Roy) assuming you left out the bitters for some reason. Thus, it might be the perfect cocktail suggestion for when a drinker cannot decide which classic to drink.