Aperol

[slkinsey]

What ratios was the bartender using. The Intro to Aperol has simple in it, but barely any. It would be hard to "back off" the amount it calls for.

[jsmeeker]

What ratios was the bartender using. The Intro to Aperol has simple in it, but barely any. It would be hard to "back off" the amount it calls for.

Dunno. I wasn't paying close attention as he made it further down the bar. Since I've never had it before, I don't know what it is supposed to taste like.

[EvergreenDan]

I too prefer less sweet (without the simple).

Intro to Aperol

[thirtyoneknots]

The recipe I originally saw used only 1/4 oz, or maybe even a scant 1/4 oz, but really I don't think it needs any at all, and is still plenty sweet.

[slkinsey]

That is correct, the recipe should only call for 1/4 ounce of 1:1 simple.

Sweetness, of course, is a matter of personal taste and preference. We should also keep in mind that the perception of sweetness diminishes as temperature goes down.

[EvergreenDan]

Oooh, I put an error in the recipe on Kindred Cocktails when I added the simple back in. I used 1/2 oz when clearly the amount is 1/4 oz. I never made it this way -- just a typo. Thanks for pointing that out.

Speaking of Aperol, I found an unnamed cocktail on Chowhound, which I tweaked and named:

Penultimate Word

2 oz Gin

1 oz Aperol

1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur

1 oz Lemon juice

1 twst Orange peel (as garnish)

Shake, strain, rocks, lowball, garnish

It's a very nice drink. I'm currently tracking down the given name of the creator, Thew on chowhound. The original was 1.5:1:1:1 with Hendricks.

[jsmeeker]

Does anyone have the recipe for "Intro to Aperol"?  A friend of mine loves the cocktail and my reverse engineering has so far been "close but no cigar"....

←

Yup,

In case you cant make out my drunken scrawl, its

2 oz. Aperol

1 oz. Beefeater Gin

3/4 oz. Lemon Juice

Dash of Angostura Bitters

- dictated by the bartender at Pegu Club, and safely crammed in my wallet until now, and its my favorite drink for now also, but that may change after I hit Tailor this weekend .

Earlier last weeek, I picked up a bottle of Aperol. I got around to making the "Intro to Aperol" using this recipe. Only modification is I used Plymouth instead of Beefeater (it's my "go to" gin for most cocktails and the only gin I had on hand) and added 1/4 simple.

I really liked it. Better than the one I had made at the bar a few weeks ago. Much less sweet. Had a more distinct grapefurit flavor to it. I suspect the bar used a good amount of simple to make their version.

Gonna play around with this more. Lots of other things mentioned in this topic that I want to try out.

[jsmeeker]

The snow is finally melting around here and I started thinking again about Aperol as a result. Also spied the St. Germain, and.... well, it isn't the most complex thing ever but it's very tasty. It also seems like something that someone should have already invented, but I can't find this recipe anywhere. It's sort of a version of Paul Harrington's Jasmine cocktail. Needs a name:

1 1/2 oz gin (Citadelle)

1/2 oz Aperol

1/2 oz St. Germain

1/2 oz lemon juice

dash grapefruit bitters

Shake; strain; lemon twist.

I looked up the Jasmine cocktail as it sounded familiar. Found it on Robert Hess's "Cocktail Spirit". It calls for Gin, Campari, Cointreau, and lemon juice. If I made it with Aperol in place of the Campari, what would it be called? Surely someone did this and named it.

[jsmeeker]

I bought a bottle of Aperol after tasting a couple of similar Aperol variations on the Negroni (one at Bourbon & Branch in SF; one at Restaurant Eugene in Atlanta). My version:

1 oz. gin (I'm using Beefeater)

1 oz. Aperol

1 oz. Lillet (blond)

Bourbon & Branch called theirs a "Summer Negroni" and I think that's a good name for it -- much as I like Negronis, this is lighter and more refreshing.

I finally got around to getting some Lilet. Made this tonight. (Plymouth instead of Beefeater).

Freaking great. Really great. It hits the spot in this wicked heat wave we are having.

[Sunny&Rummy]

The Jasmine is a cocktail I had run across a few times but had never made before tonight. It's just a little too orange-ey for me to be something that would go into the regular home bar rotation. But it is certainly something to keep in mind when looking for an approachable cocktail for people who don't think they like gin and/or Campari.

Edited July 31, 2011 by Sunny&Rummy (log)

[slkinsey]

Sunny&Rummy: Are you sure you made a Jasmine and not one of the Jasmine knock-offs posted above? I ask because, well, the Jasmine doesn't have Aperol in it (this is an Aperol thread) and it's not the least bit orangey tasting.

[Sunny&Rummy]

That's a good question, Sam. The Drink I made was at least what Robert Hess considers a Jasmine, and I made it to his recipe specifications. The orange overload comes not from Aperol (which didn't not use), but from the ounce of Cointreau that version calls for. You must be using a very different recipe for your version to have no orange taste in it, and if so please share that with me so I can play around with the drink a little.

For the record, I do like orange flavor elements in cocktails, but for me it is a flavor that can easily overpower the other ingredients if not used sparingly. 1/2 ounce of curacao or Clement Creole Shrubb makes that Mai Tai sing, but more than that and even a high hogo agricole or Jamaican pot still rum has trouble peaking through all that orange.

Edited July 31, 2011 by Sunny&Rummy (log)

[Tri2Cook]

Sunny&Rummy: Are you sure you made a Jasmine and not one of the Jasmine knock-offs posted above? I ask because, well, the Jasmine doesn't have Aperol in it (this is an Aperol thread) and it's not the least bit orangey tasting.

I was wondering about that myself. If I had to pick a single flavor I was getting from the Jasmine on the initial taste, I'd say grapefruit... despite it not being in the drink. I enjoy that drink, both for it's taste and for the alchemy involved.

[Sunny&Rummy]

No, the Jasmine was seriously orange-inflected. I am not sure how it can't be if an orange liqueur accounts for more than 25% of the cocktail's total volume.

Interestingly, and speaking of grapefruit. . . it was all the talk about the Bitter Elder earlier in this thread that led me to the Jasmine after first first trying and loving the Bitter Elder. Made according to the Kindred Cocktail specs, that one had a crazy good grapefruit flavor that somehow came out of the Campari and St. Germaine combination. I might dial back the Campari to 0.5 ounces as one of the other recipes here suggested to see where that takes the flavor combination, but dang that is a good cocktail.

[Tri2Cook]

I wonder if we're seeing a real-world scenario where one's perception of bitterness is playing a role in how something tastes. I'm wondering if an increased perception of bitterness (from the Campari of course) mutes the orange notes to more of a bitter citrus that brings grapefruit to mind or if a decreased perception of bitterness allows those same notes to come to the front resulting in an orange-forward taste.

[bostonapothecary]

I wonder if we're seeing a real-world scenario where one's perception of bitterness is playing a role in how something tastes. I'm wondering if an increased perception of bitterness (from the Campari of course) mutes the orange notes to more of a bitter citrus that brings grapefruit to mind or if a decreased perception of bitterness allows those same notes to come to the front resulting in an orange-forward taste.

i touched upon these ideas briefly in my last blog post titled "cup cakes shots? advanced reality construction basics"

flavor as a perceptual system works just like the eye. apparently lots of flavors are filled in from past experiences. paintings that illustrate similar concepts hang in museums...

[FrogPrincesse]

Tonight I tried Little Branch's Mercy, Mercy.

2 oz gin (I used Junipero)

1/2 oz Aperol

1/2 oz Lillet (I used Cocchi Americano as I've seen several variants of this drink using Cocchi).

 

 

A very nice Negroni variation. I might have to try it again with Lillet instead of Cocchi to see which version I like the best.

Edited November 29, 2016 by FrogPrincesse
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[Curt Rowe]

1. tried the "intro to aperol" when i got home tonite...wife likes it! I enjoyed this on such a nice hot day, but would have to say does not displace any of my top three cocktails..sorry..but it was very good.

2. in looking at the bottle i noted oranges and RHUBARB? that made me wonder how this would play with something strawberry; maybe a muddle of fresh? or maybe, some of your homemade Tequila Por Mi Amante? I havent ventured to make any as yet, and not sure i will get around to it this season...but wondered what you all thought, since strawberries and rhubarb otherwise play so well together...?

shanty

I thought the same thing when I wanted to mix it with something. I got a bottle of Creme a la Fraise des Bois, a French strawberry liqueur. It's pretty sweet on its own and I have a sweet tooth. I tried a number of variations of gin, lemon, Aperol, and Creme a la Fraise. I didn't come up with anything I really liked. Fresh strawberries may be a better choice.

Something that did work for me containing Aperol was a mistake I made on the May Day from the PDT cocktail book. My recipe is:

1 oz. Aperol

1 oz. Sloe Gin (original was Plymouth Gin)

1 oz.lemon juice

1 tsp simple syrup (original would have been 2 tsp)

5-6 dashes Fee Brothers Rhubarb bitters

I call it a June Bug as an advance on the month of May. There's a real interesting tast to it. I assume it's the rhubarb. The May Day also had champagne.

[FrogPrincesse]

Playing with my Bartender's Choice app, I made the Archangel cocktail a couple of nights ago, not realizing at first that I had already made it on the PDT thread (the recipe is identical to the PDT book, except for the absence of lemon twist). This time I used the gin specified in the recipe, which is Plymouth.

 

Gin, aperol, muddled cucumber.

 

 

The Bartender's Choice app describes the drink as a Negroni-influenced Martini, which is an accurate description.

Edited November 29, 2016 by FrogPrincesse
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[FrogPrincesse]

I haven’t had much luck with Aperol cocktails in general. At best I find them ok but not exactly unforgettable, except for a few exceptions (such as the Paper Plane which I would order again gladly). But many times I found them actually unpleasant. It seems that certain combinations tend to bring out the sweetness and candy-like flavor of Aperol. I think that part of the problem is that I am infatuated with Campari so I cannot help but compare them.

 

But I keep trying*. The other night I was in the mood for Suze and tried the Paper Trail with bourbon, Suze (my substitution – the original calls for Salers), Aperol. On paper it sounded sweet and indeed it was too sweet. I did not have a twist so that was another issue. I added a couple of drops of grapefruit bitters and it became passable. At least it was pretty.

 

 

*Ok, I admit it. This is mainly an attempt to streamline my liquor cabinet! I am not sure I will restock this one when it’s finally gone.

Edited November 29, 2016 by FrogPrincesse
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[EvergreenDan]

Frog -- try this, maybe? I find Aperol to have an orange soda pop flavor by itself, but that seems to disappear when it's mixed. Aperol + Campari + Lime = bitter grapefruit.

Cuatro Naranjas
by Dan Chadwick
1 oz Añejo tequila
2/3 oz Aperol
1/3 oz Campari
1/3 oz Orange liqueur, Clément Créole Shrubb
2/3 oz Lime juice
1 ds Orange bitters, Angostura orange
1 Orange peel (expressed)
1 Lime peel (expressed)

Shake, strain, rocks, lowball, express peels.

[haresfur]

I haven’t had much luck with Aperol cocktails in general. At best I find them ok but not exactly unforgettable, except for a few exceptions (such as the Paper Plane which I would order again gladly). But many times I found them actually unpleasant. It seems that certain combinations tend to bring out the sweetness and candy-like flavor of Aperol. I think that part of the problem is that I am infatuated with Campari so I cannot help but compare them.

One approach is to beat the Aperol into submission with a lot of spirit. I kind of like this Aperolitini. TOK is right, bitters help. I've tried cardamom but use a light hand with that one.

[lindag]

I just purchased a bottle of this last night on a whim.

Now I don't know what to do with it.

Can you suggest any simple cocktails that I could make with it?  (I don't have access where I live to many exotic liqueurs).

 

[blue_dolphin]

What other spirits do you like for mixing cocktails?  

If you like gin cocktails, Intro to Aperol is a good one to try.

If you  like tequila, try Cuatro Naranjas

If bourbon is your favorite, the Paper Plane is delicious (though it does call for Amaro Nonino, which is not super common and a little expensive but worth looking for)

If you have a favorite Campari cocktail, maybe a Negroni, you can try substituting Aperol or using a 1:1 mix of Aperol and Campari.

 

There may be other ideas in this older Aperol thread:  Aperol in the US

 

[Craig E]

A Spritz is a classic Venetian way of drinking it with sparkling wine and soda that's great.

Audrey Saunders's Intro to Aperol (with gin, lemon, simple, and bitters) is absolutely delicious. 

Holly Roberts's Ortensia is a Negroni riff that's not bad, though maybe Punt e Mes would count as exotic.