I have had rum in root beer, that was pretty good. I will save this for whenever my woman buys rum again. Thanks.
I made this drink after it was posted by @[Account deleted by user] here some months back. The classic recipes generally call for a specific amaro (Amaro de Nonino), but having none I substituted another whose name now eludes me. Big fat meh, so I forgot about it - until this past weekend. Saw a rendition on the drink menu at a restaurant Saturday, thought I'd give it another chance - and viola: Delicioso!
Here's a base recipe (diffordsguide.com)
Basically you could use any of dozens of amaros in this, and maybe one of a dozen apertivos. The ingredients in my - and the restaurant's - version are as follows.
Ingredients/Technique
1 oz bourbon (Makers Mark was open and handy) 1 oz amaro (Amara d'Arancia Rossa) 1 oz apertivo (Aperol - restaurant used Cappelletti) 1 oz lemon juice Paper airplane garnish (I used a lemon rind twist)
Add ingredients to cocktail shaker 2/3 full of ice, shake vigorously for 30 seconds, strain into chilled cocktail glass and add garnish (I beat the hell out of mine so there's lots of tiny ice chips floating in the glass). Note: Reduce proportions to 3/4 oz if you want.
Discussion
This is basically a bourbon riff on a Last Word cocktail - 4 ingredients in equal proportions. The amaro you use could take this in any number of directions - as could the apertivo. The amaro I used is based on Sicilian oranges and isn't as bitter as some. Ditto, the Aperol is fairly subdued in comparison to say Campari. In this version the orange comes through wonderfully without being excessively bitter. It was absolutely delicious - the best "new" cocktail I've made in recent memory.
I had my liquor store order this (amaroamara.com) amaro for me a couple months ago for another cocktail, and I've been looking at new uses for it. It is versatile and quite nice, and it will be regularly stocked in my liquor cabinet now.
4.9/5 Ducks - Exquisitely tasty. Will drink again!