tokyo drift

2 oz Yamazaki 12 Year Whisky (Kavalan Classic)
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/2 oz Cardamaro
1 tsp Strega

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Sundays ago, I turned to a recipe that I had spotted in Punch Drinks called the Tokyo Drift. The recipe was crafted by Brad Farran at the Bull Durham Beer Co. in Raleigh, NC, in 2011 back when Japanese whiskey such as Yamazaki 12 Year was overlooked and thus affordable. He named it after the third installment of The Fast & The Furious cinematic series, and I did the best I could with my collection to match the whiskey but fell a little short with Kavalan from Taiwan. I was drawn in because the style reminded me of Chris Hannah drinks like the Midnight Tripper. Once prepared, the Tokyo Drift raced to the nose with lemon and grape aromas. Next, the Cardamaro and vermouth's grape on the sip sped into whisky, herbal, and minty pine flavors on the swallow.