ukranian negroni

2 oz Tanqueray Gin
1 1/2 oz Carpano Antica (Cocchi Sweet Vermouth)
1/4 oz Campari
1/4 oz Jeppson's Malört

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and flame an orange twist over the top (unflamed, dropped).
After getting home from the Luxardo punch bowl competition at the City Winery that was after the Bacardi event, I was in the mood for a nightcap. Therefore, I turned to the 2009 Chicago Reader article where they challenged Chicago bartenders to craft something tasty with Malort. The one I selected was the Ukranian Negroni by Toby Maloney at the Violet Hour, and the structure was closer to a Hanky Panky (with the bitters being a split of Campari and Malort instead of Fernet) than to an equal parts Negroni riff. Once prepared, the twist added orange notes to the gin's pine aroma. Next, a grape sip gave way to juniper, bitter orange, and bitter wormwood on the swallow. Indeed, the Campari-Malort duo was quite intense so it was wise for Maloney not to proportion this recipe akin to a classic Negroni.