old news

1 oz Gin (Tree House Percy)
1 oz Amaro Montenegro
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
2-3 slice Cucumber
1 pinch Sea Salt (3 drop 20% Saline)

Muddle cucumber in syrup, add rest of ingredients, shake with ice, double strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a cucumber slice. Two Wednesdays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcards for Idlewild in Charlotte, North Carolina, to make a cocktail called the Old News that I had saved until I had cucumber in house. Given the name and structure, it was perhaps a variation on the Too Soon? with Montenegro and cucumber in place of Sam Ross' Cynar and orange slices. The drink itself is mentioned in a 2025 Yelp review as being recommended for folks liking gin and bitter, although the flashcard set was one that I found before that in 2024. Moreover, the Montenegro-cucumber aspect reminds me of the Manhattan riff, the Cobble Hill, but this is in a very different direction given the citrus. Once prepared, the Old News reported a cucumber, pine, and clementine aroma to the nose. Next, lemon and vegetal notes on the sip revealed juniper, orange, and cucumber-herbal flavors on the swallow.