hoskins cocktail

2 oz Gin (Beefeater Summer)
3/4 oz Torani Amer
1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)
1/4 oz Cointreau
1 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a flamed orange twist (unflamed).

After the Bluebeard's Passion, I spotted an old favorite in Robert Hess' Essential Bartender's Guide, namely Chuck Taggart's Hoskins. I was first introduced to the drink around spring of 2007 when it appeared on Eastern Standard's menu. It along with the Brooklyn and Prospect Park quickly became my favorites there. While I had been reading and commenting on Chuck's Gumbo Pages during that time, it was a few months later before I connected the fact that he had created the drink. Chuck based the drink off of the Mother-in-Law, a drink I was introduced to a few months later at the Boston LUPEC Tea Party event in October 2007 (the DrinkBoston link has a photo of Andrea and me at the event!). Allegedly my speaking about the drink and the Gumbo Pages encouraged Jess to try the Hoskins so the drink does appear on the blog. However, at Eastern Standard (and at home), we had the drink with Amer Picon; Chuck, on the other hand, prefers Torani Amer. Since we got a bottle of Torani Amer at the swag room at Tales of the Cocktail 2010, it was time to re-experience the Hoskins as Chuck envisioned it.
The Hoskins began with an orange and Maraschino aroma. While the sip was primarily a bitter orange from the Torani Amer, Cointreau, and Regan's, the swallow paired the Maraschino and gin notes. As the drink warmed up, the flavor balance improved for the Maraschino became less forward. I think that Amer Picon bridged the gap between orange and Maraschino better, for the Torani Amer version came across as more Maraschino-y than I remember Eastern Standard's version being. Perhaps, I should revisit this with a side-by-side taste test in the future to have greater confidence in this observation.