blackthorn martinez

50 mL Gin (1 1/2 oz Beefeater)
20 mL Sloe Gin (3/4 oz Atxa Patxaran)
25 mL Sweet Vermouth (3/4 oz Maurin)
5 mL Maraschino (1/4 oz Luxardo)
2 dash Angostura Bitters
2 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.

Two Wednesdays ago, I decided to make a recipe that I had spotted earlier in the week created by my Instagram friend Matthias Soberon who runs the blog ServedBySoberon. His drink was a sloe gin riff on the Martinez called the Blackthorn Martinez. Since sloe plums are also called blackthorns especially in England and Europe, this name made sense for the insertion of sloe liqueur in the mix; however, there are many cocktails out there called the Blackthorn that strangely lack this ingredient.
In the glass, the Blackthorn Martinez gave forth an orange oil over berry and grape aromas on the nose. Next, a rich grape and red fruit-laden sip gave way to gin, nutty, and tart plum flavors with a clove finish. Indeed, the sloe liqueur worked rather well with the sweet vermouth and Maraschino here to balance the gin.