[hurly-burly]

3/4 oz Pierre Ferrand Amber Cognac
3/4 oz Amaro Montenegro
3/4 oz Lillet Blanc
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

After the Monte Cassino at Bergamot, the Cognac and Amaro Montenegro inspired bartender Paul Manzelli to riff on the classic Hoop La. To the original, he added a portion of Amaro Montenegro:

• 3/4 oz Pierre Ferrand Amber Cognac
• 3/4 oz Lillet Blanc
• 3/4 oz Royal Combier Orange Liqueur
• 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
• 1/2 oz Amaro Montenegro
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

While this drink was definitely good, I felt that the orange liqueur masked a lot of the beautiful herbal and citrus peel notes in the amaro. Therefore, I remade the drink on my own with Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac and dropped the orange liqueur for I felt that the citrus notes in the Amaro Montenegro might be sufficient to carry the drink.
Once remade, the drink provided a herbal and citrus aroma. A slightly tart lemon and clementine sip led into a Cognac and herbal swallow. The change definitely lightened the heft of the orange peel notes from the Royal Combier and allowed the other ingredients to shine through.