alcazer

1/2 Rye (1 oz Redemption)
1/4 Cointreau (1/2 oz)
1/4 Fernet Branca (1/2 oz)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cocktail onion (subbed Barker & Mill's Bourbon Vanilla Cocktail Cherries).

Last Wednesday, I was flipping through Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933 for Andrea had expressed interest in a whiskey drink. There, I spotted the Alcazer which matched rye whiskey with Fernet Branca and orange liqueur. Indeed, I remember enjoying that combination in Kevin Martin's whiskey riff of the Heather in Queue that I dubbed the Heather in the Rye. The Alcazer recipe called for pearl onions which we lack in house, and I wished that we had some of Kevin Martin's vermouth-infused onions that he made for the Nolet's Gin dinner. Instead of going on the briny angle with olives, I substituted the delicious Barker & Mills cocktail cherries that I was gifted at Tales of the Cocktail last month. While the onions would donate an interesting salty-savory note that often works well with bitter liqueurs, vanilla-cherry ones would certainly not be out of place here.
The Alcazer began with a rye and orange aroma with perhaps some notes from the cherry's syrup. Next, the sip presented a sweet, smooth orange flavor. For the swallow, I picked up on rye followed by a fruity-Fernet flavor while Andrea noted more of an orange-Fernet taste. Just like Cherry Heering in the Pinto, the Cointreau in this drink did an excellent job of subduing the Fernet into a well-behaved glassmate.