marliave's cocktail

2 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)
1 dash Maraschino Liqueur (1 barspoon or 1/8 oz Luxardo)
1 liqueur glass Dry Vermouth (1 oz Noilly Prat)
1 liqueur glass Dry Gin (1 oz Beefeater)
1 liqueur glass Quinquina (1 oz Bonal)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Last Saturday night, I decided to make one of the cocktails I had spotted in Louis Mixed Drinks called the Marliave's Cocktail. I have no clue whether the drink was created at the Boston establishment, but it is very possible for the book was printed in Boston in 1906 well after the restaurant opened in 1885. While the drink book is best known for having the first recipe of the Dry Martini Cocktail, the Marliave is best known for having survived Prohibition as a speakeasy. Indeed, the Marliave's Cocktail is but one of the many riffs on the Martini that appears in Louis Mixed Drinks, and it comes across like an embittered and dry Martinez. Here, the drink's balance could vary greatly by what quinquina is used. According to Vermouth 101, Bonal, Cocchi Americano, Kina Lillet, Dubonnet, Byrrh, and other quinquinas were around back then, and I decided that Bonal would probably work rather well.
The Marliave's Cocktail began with the Maraschino's aroma complemented by a hint of orange from the bitters. The Maraschino continued on into the sip where it paired with the grape notes of the Bonal and perhaps the dry vermouth. Finally, the Bonal's gentian and quinine notes worked well with the orange bitters and gin flavors on the swallow. Overall, the Marliave's Cocktail made for a splendid aperitif cocktail.