azores

1/2 oz Apricot Brandy (1 1/2 oz Shalakh Armenian Apricot Eau de Vie)
2 dash Dry Gin (1/2 oz Beefeater)
2 dash Swedish Punsch (1/2 oz Kronan)
2 dash Dry Vermouth (1/2 oz La Quintinye)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Two Wednesdays ago, my bookshelf wandering guided me to the Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933 book. There, I spotted an apricot brandy recipe called the Azores that reminded me of the Havana Cocktail with dry vermouth and Angostura Bitters instead of the Havana's lemon juice. Since the Havana was also half apricot brandy, I figured that it meant the sweet liqueur "brandy", and I instead opted for an adapted recipe published in Greg Boehm's Big Bartender's Book that reduced the amount from half to one-sixth. While the Havana could have been a dessert-y drink, I always wondered what it would have been like with a dry apricot eau de vie as half the drink. With the Azores recipe, I decided to try the idea out.
The Azores presented an apricot bouquet to the senses that continued on as a dry orchard fruit sip with a darker note from the Swedish punsch. Next, the apricot came through on the swallow aside juniper and tea flavors and an allspice finish. The apricot eau de vie definitely worked but it does come with more than double the price tag of the Rothman & Winter apricot liqueur.