clean slate

1 oz Manzanilla Sherry (1 1/2 oz La Gitana)
1 oz Blanc Vermouth (1 1/2 oz Dolin)
1/4 oz Salers Gentian Liqueur (3/8 oz Suze)
2 dash Scrappy's Orleans or Peychaud's Bitters (Orleans)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with an edible flower like a nasturtium (violet).

Two Wednesdays ago, I was perusing Brian Bartels' The United States of Cocktails and spotted the Clean Slate. I traced the recipe back to the June 2020 Imbibe Magazine article where it described how it was crafted by Jermaine Whitehead at Deep Dive in Seattle. While the structure reminded me of a Bamboo with blanc vermouth and the addition of gentian liqueur, the combination also made me recall the Albariza at Straight Law that took those ingredients in a citrus direction.The Clean Slate proffered an herbal gentian, floral, and savory bouquet to the nose. Next, crisp acid with semi-sweet white grape on the sip sallied to herbal and floral flavors on the swallow.