My entry for January's Mixology Monday challenge, Brace Yourself.
The idea of this month's theme is a cocktail that helps brace yourself to face the wintry weather. One of my first reactions to my recently acquired bottle of Bonal Gentiane Quina was that it reminded me, in its acidic sweetness, a bit of a nice apple cider, so this seemed like a good foundation for a wintry cocktail. If I wasn't going to do a hot, toddy-like cocktail, I knew I'd need the warming effects of something high-proof, so I pulled out my bottle of Hamilton 151 rum to pair with it. After a few trials I found its alcohol and molasses flavors overrode my yummy Bonal, so I needed something a little more neutral to rebalance the drink, and since apple cider was my starting point, calvados seemed like a natural fit. The cinnamon notes of Berechkova seemed like an obvious complement to the apple idea, so I added that as a rinse. After a few rounds of rebalancing, I wound up with:
2 oz. Bonal
1 oz. calvados
1/2 oz. Hamilton 151 rum
Becherovka rinse
orange twist
