I was going through Fred Yarm's list of top cocktails of 2016 and this one caught my eye. It's his adaptation of the Benediction from Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars.
Benediction (as adapted by Frederic Yarm) with Pierre Ferrand 1840 cognac, Dolin dry vermouth, Benedictine, Picon, Maraschino liqueur.
I thought for a second of using Bigallet China-China but went with Picon as was specified (although mine is Picon Biere, not Amer Picon).
The cocktail wasn't too sweet as I was fearing initially with the Picon & cognac combo. Nice harmony between the cognac and the dry vermouth, lots of grape notes, some bitter orange and body from the Picon, sweetness from the maraschino, and the Benedictine in the background tying everything together. Very successful!
