silk road sour

1 1/2 oz London Dry Gin (Beefeater)
3/10 oz Benedictine(2 tsp)
3/10 oz Apricot Brandy (2 tsp Rothman & Winter)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Simple Syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.
Two Tuesday ago, Andrea and I attended a punch bowl event at the recently opened Backbar in Somerville. For a nightcap, I decided to make a drink I found in Gary Regan's Bartender's Gin Compendium, the Silk Road Sour. The drink was created by Timothy Carroll of the East Room in London. The Sour began with a pleasing aromatic combination of the grapefruit oils and the apricot liqueur. The lime and Angostura Bitters paired on the sip to make an almost grapefruit like impression as they do in the Pegu Club. On the swallow, the apricot and Benedictine offered contrasting high and low elements that were followed by lingering gin and citrus notes. In the end, the balance and flavors were similar to the Pegu Club, but the apricot-Benedictine duo came across somewhat differently from Cointreau.