needles & pins

2 oz Gin (Farmer's Botanical Organic)
1/2 oz Cocchi Americano
1/2 oz Manzanilla Sherry (Tio Pepe Fino)
1 bsp Benedictine (1/8 oz)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Wednesdays ago, I returned to the drinks of the Bartender's Choice app and spotted the Needles & Pins. The name triggered the Ramones song playing in my head; however, the track was originally recorded by Jackie DeShannon fifteen years before that in 1963. The recipe itself was crafted by David Molyneux at Melbourne's The Everleigh in 2015 as a drier version of the Rolls Royce that appeared in the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book. A similar dry sherry swap of sorts was done in the Aston Martin, but that got rid of the vermouth component completely. Once mixed, the Needles & Pins gave forth a lemon, fino sherry, and pine aroma. Next, a semi-dry white grape sip with hints of orchard fruit drove into gin, citrus, herbal, and floral flavors on the swallow.