blue collar

2 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse Bonded)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/4 oz Amer Picon (Torani)
1/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur (Maraska)
2 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

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

In the recipe section of Eric Alperin's Unvarnished book, I was drawn in by the Blue Collar by Michael Madrusan. Michael created this riff on the Brooklyn by swapping in sweet vermouth and orange bitters for the classic's dry vermouth. Actually, the recipe is closer to the earliest known Brooklyn that appeared in Jacob Grohusko's 1908 Jack's Manual which called for sweet vermouth before the literature soon drifted to dry vermouth as the aromatized wine component.
Normally, I use a softer rye for my dry vermouth Brooklyns so that I can taste the liqueurs better; however, I went a bit more bold in flavor to cut into the vermouth's additional sweetness. Here, the Blue Collar offered up a lemon and malt nose that preceded a grape and malt sip. Next, the swallow showcased the rye that was colored by nutty cherry and bitter orange flavors.