Cocktails with Bénédictine

[FrogPrincesse]

The bitters sounds nice with the Bénédictine, which also contains saffron I believe.

[KD1191]

Last night at Two Ten Jack in Nashville (sensational ramen, by the way), I had the Take & Nickel:

 

Nikka 12 yr, Appleton Estate, Rare Wine Savannah Madeira, Cherry Heering, Benedictine, Lapsang Souchong Bitters

 

I spotted this on the menu after enjoying something quite bitter with Cynar that was on tap. I expressed my concern that it might be too sweet, but the bartender insisted it was "stout." On first sip, I would have said this drink was in fact the epitome of "sweetness," but the smoke & earth of the bitters rushed to the rescue on the finish leaving me quite intrigued, and with an empty glass in short order.

[FrogPrincesse]

The Eastwood (Marc Haines) with añejo tequila (7 Leguas), Punt e Mes, Benedictine, aromatic (Fee Brother's whiskey-barrel aged bitters) and orange (Fee's and Regan's) bitters, expressed lemon peel. It's similar to a Preakness cocktail or a Bobby Burns with aged tequila instead of rye or scotch, respectively.

 

The initial impression is bitterness and wood, then it develops some really cool aromas including chocolate, and a touch of citrus. Good use of a very nice aged tequila.

 

 

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Rafa's California Widow is really good with flavors that pop. Great use of Terroir gin and pear eau-de-vie. I went with Orinoco for the bitters.

 

California Widow with St. George Terroir gin, pear eau-de-vie, green Chartreuse, Benedictine, Orinoco bitters. Actually, now that I read my notes I realize that what I made was a variation of Rafa's creation, because I skipped the St. Germain altogether. It's funny because I used it in my next drink, the Vieux Mot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rafa]

The St. Germain complements the pear, but it does make the drink overly sweet for most tastes. I'll have to try it à la Frog. You've turned it into more of a (California) Widow's Kiss.

[FrogPrincesse]

The Foxtail (Thomas Kunick via Gaz Regan) with Tanqueray London dry gin (substituted for Oxley gin), Benedictine, white grapefruit juice (Oro Blanco).

 

 

 

A very simple three components/equal parts number. Benedictine is indeed very nice with grapefruit.

I think the cocktail would be better with slightly more gin and less Benedictine because the balance was a tad off - the flavors were herbal and sometimes bordering on the side of medicinal. Or maybe Oxley gin works better with these ratios, it's entirely possible. Apparently it's also juniper-forward but has more citrus than Tanqueray.

 

 

 

Edited February 11, 2016 by FrogPrincesse
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[FrogPrincesse]

Vieux Carre inspired with a base of apple brandy and aged rum, spirit-forward and with a lot of fruit.

Ciudad Vieja (Alex Negranza via Gaz Regan) with Daron XO calvados, Plantation Barbados 5, Clement Creole shrubb, Benedictine, Creole bitters.

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Preakness with High West American Prairie bourbon, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Benedictine, Berg & Hauck's old time aromatic bitters (with the Death & Co's ratios). A classic for a reason... it's a really great Manhattan variation.

 

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

After the Final Straw, a Laphroaig-based Last Word variation which substituted Benedictine for the Maraschino liqueur, I was encouraged to explore more cocktails pairing peaty scotch, Chartreuse and Benedictine...

 

Butter Lemon Smoke (TJ Vytlacil) with Laphroaig 10, Landy VS cognac, green Chartreuse, Benedictine.

Note that the cocktail was conceived with Peat Monster which, unlike its name indicates, is actually less peaty than Laphroaig.

 

 

This was a rather rich cocktail, although the Laphroaig cut through most of the sweetness and made it work. Some buttery rich notes came through, lemon from a generous zest (in addition to the garnish, I used an extra peel to generously spray the surface of the cocktail), and obviously the smoke from the scotch.

Edited March 23, 2016 by FrogPrincesse
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[tanstaafl2]

I may have to give this a try using the Peat Monster to see how it works.

[Craig E]

Here's my go at Butter Lemon Smoke (also with Laphraoig 10, and Maison Rouge cognac).

Aptly named! 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Widow's Kiss, Kappeler.  Following an early dinner, too soon to go to bed.  Still haven't found a better excuse for Benedictine.  Any of you who are widows and so inclined, please ring me up.

[FrogPrincesse]

Vieux [sic] Ananas (Ezra Star) with Rittenhouse 100 proof rye whiskey, Plantation Stiggins' Fancy pineapple rum, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Benedictine, Angostura bitters. This was pretty great. The pineapple rum is subtle enough that it's very easy to mix in cocktails - the pineapple isn't immediately obvious, but it does pop up over time as a nice surprise.

 

 

[Craig E]

2 hours ago, FrogPrincesse said:

Vieux [sic] Ananas (Ezra Star) with Rittenhouse 100 proof rye whiskey, Plantation Stiggins' Fancy pineapple rum, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Benedictine, Angostura bitters. This was pretty great. The pineapple rum is subtle enough that it's very easy to mix in cocktails - the pineapple isn't immediately obvious, but it does pop up over time as a nice surprise.

 

 

That sounds good!  

To my taste there was almost as much papaya as pineapple in that rum. It's good stuff. 

[FrogPrincesse]

 

De La Louisiane (Stanley Clisby Arthur via PDT) with Wild Turkey rye whiskey, Cocchi vermouth di Torino, Benedictine, St George absinthe, Peychaud's bitters. It's rich, but it works with the Wild Turkey 101.

[lesliec]

Sounds like one for me, FP.

 

What ratios did you use?  The comments in Kindred suggest several variants.

[FrogPrincesse]

9 minutes ago, lesliec said:

Sounds like one for me, FP.

 

What ratios did you use?  The comments in Kindred suggest several variants.

 

PDT ratios: 2 oz rye, 0.75 oz sweet vermouth, 0.75 oz Benedictine, 3 dashes absinthe, 3 dashes Peychaud's bitters.

[Chris Hennes]

Another La Louisiane, different ratio (.75 of all the main spirits)...

[FrogPrincesse]

Looking for a cocktail to bring to a Cinco de Mayo party hosted by the cookbook club I am a member of, I spotted this intriguing cocktail with mezcal and Benedictine which seemed like a good way to celebrate this Franco-Mexican event . It was in one of the books we were cooking from, Oaxaca (eG-friendly Amazon.com link).

 

Quote

Flor de Piña

 

2 oz pineapple juice [I used the canned juice from Trader Joe's which is very decent]

1 oz honey [I used honey syrup made with 2 parts wildflower honey and 1 part water]

4 oz coconut water [Zico]

2 oz mezcal [Banhez joven, espadin & barril, selected for its pineapple and banana notes]

1/2 oz Benedictine

 

Lovely long, refreshing drink where the mezcal comes through and the Benedictine adds some interesting base notes. I also liked the fact that it is pretty diluted but still packed full of flavor.

 

 

I need to play with Benedictine more often, it's great with tropical flavors (in a ying and yang sort of way).

[FrogPrincesse]

Just a few days later, I went to my friends' new bar Happy Medium and on the menu was a drink called the High Fashion that used bourbon, pineapple benedictine (!) and burlesque / angostura bitters. Another great example of benedictine working well with tropical flavors!