Saturday, November 5, 2016

devil's backbone

1 oz Rye Whiskey (Sazerac)
1/2 oz Smoky Single Malt like Ardbeg 10 (Caol Ila 12)
3/4 oz Averna
1/2 oz Gran Classico or other aperitivo (Campari)
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.

Around the same time that I had spotted the Autumn Negroni, I had put another Negroni-like drink, the Devil's Backbone, on the to-make list. I found the recipe in Lou Bustamante's The Complete Cocktail Manual; Chris Lane of San Francisco's Ramen Shop described how this was two whiskeys, two amari, and 2 bitters in concept. Moreover, the cocktail reminded me in name and ingredients of Ted Kilgore's Devil's Soul, so I was definitely game in trying this one out.
The Devil's Backbone gave forth an orange and peat smoke bouquet to the nose. Next, malt and caramel on the sip transitioned into smoky whisky, bitter orange, and herbal flavors on the swallow; overall, it was a bit sharper than a Boulevardier perhaps from the smoky single malt but in the same ballpark.

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