This is the only cocktail I’ve ever come up with where I nailed the ingredients and proportions on the first try. I’ve never changed the recipe at all from the first night I made it! I still grin every time I take that first sip, because the drink is just perfectly what I wanted it to be, a delicious combination of oaky bourbon, spicy vermouth, earthy maraschino, and herbal Fernet.
It’s sort of a Brooklyn variant, but it’s a got a lot of other stuff going on. Plenty enough that I feel comfortable christening it as its own unique drink. I’ve scoured the web and there don’t seem to be any drinks with a similar ingredient set, much to my surprise, so I’m claiming ownership. Why “The Golden Word”? … well, because you’ll have nothing but good things to say when you try it!
Oh, last thing: we’re mainly keeping the drinks in this series to ingredients that aren’t too “out there” and I know this one fails that test a bit, but seriously … spring for a bottle of maraschino and a bottle of Fernet Branca. Neither is super pricey and they’ll last you forever because you rarely need more than half an ounce of them (even a quarter ounce of Fernet can take over a drink that doesn’t have this many strong flavors). Well worth the cash.
- 2 oz. Bourbon (Basil Hayden’s ain’t bad)
- .75 oz. Sweet Vermouth (Noilly Prat or Dolin work well here)
- .5 oz. Maraschino (I recommend Luxardo)
- .25 oz. Fernet Branca
- Dash Aromatic Bitters (I made my own. Angostura‘s fine)
Combine all ingredients over ice in a pint glass and stir thoroughly. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with an orange twist.
This article is a modified and enhanced version of a post that ran on my nightly cocktail blog, DrinkShouts.
drinks
What’s the recommended life of vermouth (sweet or dry)?
Christopher Buecheler
Both should be kept in the fridge. Sweet seems to last a bit longer than dry, but not much. I try to consume dry vermouth within 4 weeks or so (I buy 375ml bottles when possible to facilitate that). Sweet you can probably go up to 8 weeks. In all cases, though, it’s best in the first week or so. It won’t poison you or anything, but as it oxidizes it gets kind of pruney and gross-tasting.
Matt
This series is fantastic.
Christopher Buecheler
Awesome, thanks! Glad you’re enjoying it.