farmer's armagnac

1 1/2 oz Armagnac (Larressingle VSOP)
3/4 oz Benedictine
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Cointreau

Shake with ice and strain into a sugared-rimmed cocktail glass.

On Friday, our first cocktail of the evening was found in the Cocktail Collective book, namely the Farmer's Armagnac. The drink was created by Frank Cisneros of Brooklyn's Prime Meats, and after having the Junior a few nights before, I was in the mood for yet another Benedictine drink. Moreover, finding cocktails that specifically call for Armagnac is rare; generally we only get to use it when the recipe calls for brandy as it can often make the flavor profile more interesting. With Armagnacs frequently having a rustic taste to them, the drink's name was an appropriate pun.
The Farmer's Armagnac greeted the nose with a lemon and orange aroma from the juice and liqueur. These two notes were also present in the sip as a semi-sweet fruity flavor as they combined with the brandy's grape. Next, the swallow had the dark complexity of the Benedictine coupled with the Armagnac's heat. The drink proved to be much drier than I expected especially on the swallow, so the sugared rim was actually a good addition to allow the drinker to modulate each sip's sweetness. With the lemon and the Benedictine, the drink reminded me of the whiskey-based Frisco Sour and the gin-based Cornell Special. Moreover, with the brandy, lemon juice, and orange liqueur, it also somewhat reminded me of a Sidecar, albeit a more sophisticated and earthy one.