flora astoria

2 oz Hendrick's Gin (Tanqueray Malacca)
1/2 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1 bsp Velvet Falernum
4 dash Lavender Tincture (1 dash Scrappy's Lavender Bitters)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a dried lavender sprig (lemon twist).

Two weeks ago, I attended a Zoom session with the Scrappy's Bitters folks where they sent me a bunch of bitters samples in advance. Also in the kit was a sweetened whiskey sample that would serve as a base of an Old Fashioned with our choice of bitters or combinations thereof. In the mix was Scrappy's Lavender Bitters, so I decided the next night to make the Flora Astoria from the PDT Cocktail Book. The recipe was crafted by Lindsay Nader and Anne Robinson as their flowery riff of the inverse Martini, the Astoria, from The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book (it actually appeared a little before that in the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book).The Flora Astoria presented a lavender, citrus, and pine bouquet to the nose. Next, a semi-sweet white grape sip slipped into gin, lavender, and lime flavors on the swallow.