the bitter blend

1/2 oz Gin (St. George Dry Rye)
1/2 oz Bourboun (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Campari
1 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Sundays prior, I ventured back to Shawn Soole's Great Northern Cocktails book and landed on the Bitter Blend by Montreal bartender Sean Michael McCaffrey. It read like a Negroni crossed with a Boulevardier, but with the Cynar part, perhaps a Negroni crossed with a Little Italy would be more fitting. Bourbon and gin in a straight spirits format was one that I have seen three times before: the Manhattan/Martinez-like Arnaud's Atomic Bomb, Fool's Gold with a Picon-like element, and Sother Teague's Youthful Expression with Ramazzotti (not to mention with citrus and ginger ale, the Suffering Bastard, of course). Moreover, the name reminded me of Eastern Standard's Bitter Brew that they crafted when their Amer Picon stock ran out. In the glass, the Bitter Blend proffered an orange and grapefruit bouquet. Next, a grape-driven sip slid into Bourbon, juniper, funky herbal, and bitter orange flavors on the swallow.