the onset

1 oz Bols Genever
1 oz Gran Classico
1 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Twist a grapefruit peel over the top.

Two Thursdays ago, I stopped into Drink and acquired a seat at bartender Will Thomson's section. For a start, Will suggested a Negroni variation he crafted called the Onset. When I inquired about the name, he mentioned how Genever was the predecessor of gin although with the other ingredients that explanation sort of fell apart. He then described how he had to work on the night of a concert that he wanted to go to; the band's name translated to the Onset. When he created this drink that night, he paid tribute to his bitter moment.
The grapefruit oils paired with the Genever's malt on the drink's nose. The sweet grape and malt notes on the sip also contained a hint of citrus. Next, the Genever punctuated by the Gran Classico's bitter herbal component filled the swallow. As the Onset warmed up, there was more malt on the nose but less relative Genever flavor, and the Gran Classico played a bigger role.