Tuesday, October 2, 2012

utrecht-baden

1 oz Bols Genever
1 oz Aperol
1 oz Cinzano Sweet Vermouth
1 barspoon Fernet Branca
1 barspoon Mirto
2-3 dash Regan's Orange Bitters

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

The other drink I had at Estragon was the Utrecht-Baden. Bartender Sahil Mehta explained that he had created it for the Spanish Sip event back in August of 2011, and that the recipe was a riff on a Negroni. Utrecht and Baden were two treaties signed by the combatants in the War of the Spanish Succession and the treaties helped to maintain the European balance of power in the 18th century. The two treaties were signed in the Dutch city of Utrecht in 1713 and in the Swiss city of Baden in 1714. The Dutch aspect would certainly explain Sahil's use of Genever here.
The orange twist brightened up the Genever's malt aroma. The malt continued on into the sip where it mingled with the fruit notes of the Aperol and vermouth. The swallow was a combination of the Fernet Branca, Mirto, and the Bols Genever's botanicals. Indeed, the Aperol in conjunction with the Fernet and Mirto did give a similar impression as Campari.

4 comments:

Alex said...

One of the cool things about reading this blog is learning about new ingredients. I thought at this point I'd heard it all, and then...mirto?!?!? Had to look that one up. Where in the world does one find the stuff Sounds interesting.

frederic said...

If you're in the Boston area, Ball Square Wines (Somerville), Mall Discount Liquors (Cambridge/Fresh Pond), Cirace's (Boston), and Marty's (Newtonville) all carry it.

Paul said...

Is the red mirto the one to choose here, as there is a white variety too ? And does most of the Mirto recipes call for the red kind as I have to put it to use if I buy a bottle.

frederic said...

I believe the red one is the most prevalent in Boston. Here at a barspoon, probably either would work.