After a couple of weeks of dipping into the rye and applejack to commemorate the arrival of autumn, tonight I inexplicably had the urge to break out the St. Germain and the Aperol, and start tinkering to see what happens.
Here’s what happened — not too bad, if I say so myself, though I’m still pondering the level of St. Germain; at 1/2 ounce the drink was still in the bracingly tart/bitter range, but at 3/4 ounce, the sweetness is moving in. I may dicker with the proportions some more, either dialing back on the St. Germain or giving the lemon juice an extra little kick, but I’m also anticipating that I’m way behind the times here (wouldn’t be the first time), and that a drink very much like this one has been featured on a cocktail menu since last April.
Give it a try, if you like, and let me know your thoughts.
- 1 1/2 ounces gin (I used Bombay original)
- 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 ounce Aperol
- 1/2 ounce St. Germain
Shake with cracked ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass.
UPDATE: The sweetness was starting to get to me as I wrapped up the post, so I went and mixed up another, using only 1/2 ounce of St. Germain. Contrary to my initial concern, this version is much more balanced than the proportions I initially had, so I’ve changed the recipe to reflect this.
Sounds nice – I have everything but the lemons, so I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to try it.
I’m thinking that this might be nice with grapefruit juice, too.
sounds interesting. it might be a good drink for a rye based grapefruit amaro i made a long time ago… it was meant to be a aperol style amaro rather than a dasher bottle cocktail bitter. really similar except drastically less sweet. i made two liters and drank one of them straight. good use of grapefruit rinds i salvaged from the pastry chef.
rye whiskey
grapefruit rind
ginger
coriander
hibiscus flower (be careful of potency)
adding pomegrante seeds wouldn’t be horrible either.
kind of like something that appeared on the gumbo pages quite a while ago but more fun in bigger doses.
I tried this last night. Absolutely a perfectly balanced cocktail. The bitterness of the Aperol makes the drink. This is now a house favorite. Interesting that I only had Aperol and St. Germain due to a recent visit to LeNell’s and on their recommendation.
Paul, this is really quite good. But please, you must give it a NAME! How am I supposed to enter it into my massively-annotated copy of Craft of the Cocktail without a name?
I didn’t have Aperol handy so I substituted Campari and upped the St. Germain to 3/4 oz. to counteract the extra bitterness. It also makes for a great drink that tastes remarkably like pink grapefruit juice (much more so than a Jasmine thanks to the floral notes of the St. Germain). I’ve taken to calling that one a Bitter Elder but I’m looking forward to trying it with the Aperol as well.
This is excellent. I used it this evening as my “last chance, Aperol!” ultimatum, after two previous unhappy experiences. Very good! Wonderfully balanced, and a lovely color, too. I might experiment with garnishes — an orange twist, maybe, rather than lemon.
You really need to name this one, as I’ll be mixing it frequently. I may blog about it, even.
Tried the “Bitter Elder”, as described here and it is a spectacular cocktail. Tastes like Texas Ruby Red grapefuit juice right out of the can (a good thing!). Also it’s fairly weak with the Campari, Lemon Juice and St. Germain, allowing one to enjoy two or three cocktails without serious effects.
Thanks!
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Yeah, Paul, howzabout a name? I just made this (we finally have both Aperol & St. Germain in Oklahoma), & it is DEE-LICIOUS!
–cz
Finally settled on a name a while back (following a suggestion from Murray Stenson): the Dunniette (as in, “done yet?”)
The cocktail bar Drink substitutes grapefruit juice for the lemon juice and calls this a Dejuner.
(PS – Drink is a bar in Boston…)
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