alpine drive

1 oz Drouin Calvados (Morin Selection)
1 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
1/2 oz Becherovka
2 dash Maple Bitters (3 drop Maple Syrup + 1 dash Fee's Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters)

Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora (coupe) glass, and garnish with an apple fan. Two Tuesdays ago, the apple fan on the Beyond the Solar System reminded me of the recipe that I had saved for the Alpine Drive by Mark Stoddard. I had uncovered this recipe via online recipe flashcards for the Fall 2024 menu at Teardrop Lounge in Portland, Oregon, and the current menu describes it as "A leisurely stroll through the changing colors" with evidence in the Willamette Weekly that it was being served at the bar as far back as 2017. I have only had Becherovka with an apple brandy base in the Meadowlands but several times in split base apple brandy drinks such as the Orchard in Manhattan, so I was curious to see try it here in a spiced Marconi Wireless riff. Once prepared, the nose offered up apple, dark grape, and cinnamon aromas. Next, grape, plum, and maple flavors on the sip dispersed into apple, herbal, clove, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.