continental

1 1/2 oz Plymouth Gin (Martin Miller)
3/4 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Blanc Vermouth (Dolin)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.

A few Mondays ago, I was looking through Paul Clarke's The Cocktail Chronicles for any passed over recipes. There, I spotted in the Negroni section the Continental created by Douglas Derick of Portland, Oregon. While the book provided no back history, I was able to find on the Barnotes app that he created this at Nostrana as part of his Negroni variation a month for a year project. The Continental was his favorite of the dozen.
The Continental shared lemon, herbal, and pine notes to the nose. Next, a sweet white grape and caramel sip gave way to a soft herbal and floral swallow with funky notes and juniper on the finish. Indeed, I was impressed at how the blanc vermouth modulated the Cynar into something a bit less funky and strange of an amaro.