Cynar

[Plantes Vertes]

Some Italian cocktails with Cynar:

Cynar is an Italian traditional bitter liqueur.

Drink on the rocks with an orange zest or use it in cocktails.

Shake 1 part of Artichoke Liqueur (Cynar), 1 part of Curacao, 1 part of Cherry Ratafià, 3 parts of orange juice.

Pour the Cynar in a frozen flute and add 2 parts of dry white wine.

A typical Venetian aperitif: shake 1 part of Artichoke Liqueur, 1 part of Aperol (or Red Vermouth), 1 part of Dry Gin.

Pour over ice in a highball glass.

My recipe to make Artichoke Liqueur (Cynar):

Ingredients:

1 liter of alcohol at 95º

30 tender leaves of artichoke

1 lemon

5 artichoke stems

1 flowering tops of yarrow

2 cloves

1/2 liter of water

1 cups of sugar

1/2 liter of dry white wine

Wash the artichoke leaves in water and lemon.

Peel the stems and cut them in little cubes.

Put the spices, the artichoke stems and leaves and the alcohol in an airtight jar.

Let soak for 3 weeks.

Filter.

Make a syrup with the sugar and the water.

If you prefer a very bitter taste use only ¼ cup of sugar.

Add the syrup and the wine to the alcohol.

Bottle and let rest for 4 months.

Thanks for the recipe Olmoelisa. I like homemade things

[Rafa]

Some Italian cocktails with Cynar:

Cynar is an Italian traditional bitter liqueur.

Drink on the rocks with an orange zest or use it in cocktails.

Shake 1 part of Artichoke Liqueur (Cynar), 1 part of Curacao, 1 part of Cherry Ratafià, 3 parts of orange juice.

Pour the Cynar in a frozen flute and add 2 parts of dry white wine.

A typical Venetian aperitif: shake 1 part of Artichoke Liqueur, 1 part of Aperol (or Red Vermouth), 1 part of Dry Gin.

Pour over ice in a highball glass.

My recipe to make Artichoke Liqueur (Cynar):

Ingredients:

1 liter of alcohol at 95º

30 tender leaves of artichoke

1 lemon

5 artichoke stems

1 flowering tops of yarrow

2 cloves

1/2 liter of water

1 cups of sugar

1/2 liter of dry white wine

Wash the artichoke leaves in water and lemon.

Peel the stems and cut them in little cubes.

Put the spices, the artichoke stems and leaves and the alcohol in an airtight jar.

Let soak for 3 weeks.

Filter.

Make a syrup with the sugar and the water.

If you prefer a very bitter taste use only ¼ cup of sugar.

Add the syrup and the wine to the alcohol.

Bottle and let rest for 4 months.

Thank you for the recipe, olmoelisa.

How does its flavor compare to the commercially available Cynar?

[olmoelisa]

Thank you for the recipe, olmoelisa.

How does its flavor compare to the commercially available Cynar?

About the same.

Artichoke flavor is so strong it covers everything else.

[Chris Amirault]

Maloney No. 2

by John Durr of the Hawthorn Beverage Group in Louisville

1 1/2 oz Bourbon (Original recipe specifies bonded)

1 1/2 oz Sweet vermouth, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino

3/4 oz Cynar

1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass with ice; garnish with an orange peel twist

I served it up. I was delicious. The bitter herbs of the cynar seem to have a great affinity for maraschino liqueur. It did not taste overly bitter so I thought I might convert my husband to cynar, but he decided he did not care for it.

FrogPrincesse, thanks for introducing me to this great tipple. Very tasty with Punt e Mes.

[FrogPrincesse]

You are very welcome, Chris. It's good to see you here!

[Plantes Vertes]

Making Cynar:

My budget could only accommodate one artichoke so I divided the recipe

[Rafa]

Maloney No. 2

by John Durr of the Hawthorn Beverage Group in Louisville

1 1/2 oz Bourbon (Original recipe specifies bonded)

1 1/2 oz Sweet vermouth, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino

3/4 oz Cynar

1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass with ice; garnish with an orange peel twist

I served it up. I was delicious. The bitter herbs of the cynar seem to have a great affinity for maraschino liqueur. It did not taste overly bitter so I thought I might convert my husband to cynar, but he decided he did not care for it.

I made this tonight and I'm sad to say I found it too sweet and Maraschino-y. I used the specified Cocchi Vermouth and Ridgemont Reserve 1792, which is ~94 proof. I added some Islay whisky which helped balance it a bit. Since you all like it so much I'll assume my palate is just out of whack. I've been drinking mostly wine and neat spirits, so any cocktail would probably strike me as sweet. Or maybe I'm just becoming Evergreen Dan and will soon shun and hiss at all things sweet.

Making Cynar:

My budget could only accommodate one artichoke so I divided the recipe

Glad you could find room in your budget for flowering tops of yarrow at least.

Edited June 13, 2013 by Rafa (log)

[EvergreenDan]

Or maybe I'm just becoming Evergreen Dan and will soon shun and hiss at all things sweet

I like sssssssssssssssssssssssssweeet ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssometimesssssssssssssss.

[Zachary]

You know, I might just sub dry red wine (Shiraz?) for the Cocchi. Wait.... am I going to have to give up my membership in the All Things Cocchi fanclub?

Thanks,

Zachary

[Plantes Vertes]

>Making Cynar:

My budget could only accommodate one artichoke so I divided the recipe

Glad you could find room in your budget for flowering tops of yarrow at least.

Just picked it for free. Got all sorts of mud and twigs around here. We don't all live in the Big Village you know.

Edited June 13, 2013 by Plantes Vertes (log)

[tanstaafl2]

Maloney No. 2

by John Durr of the Hawthorn Beverage Group in Louisville

1 1/2 oz Bourbon (Original recipe specifies bonded)

1 1/2 oz Sweet vermouth, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino

3/4 oz Cynar

1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass with ice; garnish with an orange peel twist

I served it up. I was delicious. The bitter herbs of the cynar seem to have a great affinity for maraschino liqueur. It did not taste overly bitter so I thought I might convert my husband to cynar, but he decided he did not care for it.

I made this tonight and I'm sad to say I found it too sweet and Maraschino-y. I used the specified Cocchi Vermouth and Ridgemont Reserve 1792, which is ~94 proof. I added some Islay whisky which helped balance it a bit. Since you all like it so much I'll assume my palate is just out of whack. I've been drinking mostly wine and neat spirits, so any cocktail would probably strike me as sweet. Or maybe I'm just becoming Evergreen Dan and will soon shun and hiss at all things sweet.

Might try the variation Chris noted with Punt e Mes to see if that gets it back closer to balance for your palate.

Sounds tasty as written to me! Although might be worth trying using Rittenhouse rye as well.

Edited June 13, 2013 by tanstaafl2 (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

The Navy Dock Daiquiri, found on cocktail virgin slut blog. Decided to post this one in the Cynar thread rather than the daiquiri thread based on the flavor profile.

1.5 oz Smith & Cross Jamaica rum
3/4 oz Cynar
1/2 oz lime juice
1/4 oz maraschino liqueur

Oil and smoke in a daiquiri base, with bonus funk from the maraschino.

[FrogPrincesse]

So the Navy Dock Daiquiri was another one in a series of cocktails combining cynar and maraschino. (See the Cynar What I Mean and Maloney No. 2 upthread).

Chris Hannah's Amertinez, also from the cocktail virgin slut blog, is, as it names indicates, a bitter Martinez with a touch of amaro.

1 1/4 oz gin
2/3 oz sweet vermouth

2/3 oz amaro (I used cynar)
1/4 oz maraschino liqueur
2 dashes orange bitters

It's ginny, bitter, a bit sweet. It's a good sipper.

Edited June 19, 2013 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

EvergreenDan's creation (still unnamed?)

2 oz Cynar

1/2 oz Smith & Cross

1/2 oz Lemon

It's just like a Daiquiri, except that it's bitter, funky, lemony and nothing like a Daiquiri. But it's damn delicious.

It's very good indeed.

[EvergreenDan]

Picked a name. Wedderburn is the heavy distillate used in Smith & Cross

Wedderburn or Bite
by Dan Chadwick
2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Jamaican rum, Smith & Cross
1/2 oz Lemon juice

Shake, strain, rocks, lowball

[haresfur]

Picked a name. Wedderburn is the heavy distillate used in Smith & Cross

Wedderburn or Bite

by Dan Chadwick

2 oz Cynar

1/2 oz Jamaican rum, Smith & Cross

1/2 oz Lemon juice

Shake, strain, rocks, lowball

Well, I liked the name "Sexy Beast", but "Wedderburn or Bite" works too.

But if you are going to name it after a town just up the road from me, and since I don't have any Smith and Cross, you should know that Inner Circle works well in this.

[Adam George]

EvergreenDan's creation (still unnamed?)

2 oz Cynar1/2 oz Smith & Cross1/2 oz Lemon It's just like a Daiquiri, except that it's bitter, funky, lemony and nothing like a Daiquiri. But it's damn delicious.

It's very good indeed.

i made this today. Fantastic

[mkayahara]

Replenished my supply of Cynar today, so I made up Dan's Wedderburn or Bite. Truly fantastic drink!

[Rafa]

I mixed up the recipes for the Warning Label and the Teenage Riot tonight, and made this:

1 oz Lemon Hart 151

1 oz Cynar

1 oz Amontillado Sherry

Lemon twist.

Pretty good!

[KatieLoeb]

I have a semi-regular guest that comes in and asks for a Negroni with Cynar rather than Campari. Slightly tweaked proportions, 1.5 gin:1 Cynar:1 M&R sweet vermouth. While the drink is not to my taste, others that have tried it think it's grand.

[FrogPrincesse]

On the topic of cynar (and salt), here is Christian Siglin's Milano Swizzle: gin, cynar, sweet vermouth, lemon juice, salt. It builds on the foundation of the Search for Delicious and adds gin. A great summer drink.

[Rafa]

On the topic of cynar (and salt), here is Christian Siglin's Milano Swizzle: gin, cynar, sweet vermouth, lemon juice, salt. It builds on the foundation of the Search for Delicious and adds gin. A great summer drink.

I was in the mood for rum and I'm out of sweet vermouth, so I made a variation of this with Lemon Hart 151 and Bonal, same ratios. Really nice.

Edited July 19, 2013 by Rafa (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

The Man Comes Around by Rafa.

His reputation is well deserved. He is really good.

[Rafa]

The Man Comes Around by Rafa.

His reputation is well deserved. He is really good.

You are too kind. Thank you for trying it. I'm glad our tastes aligned on this one.

If any of you haven't tried bostonapothecary's Alto Cucina yet, I highly recommend it. It's a model of balance, contemplative and delicious. And it's got a structure that lends itself to substitutions and experimentation.

[FrogPrincesse]

Thanks to Rafa (again) for recommending the Doe's Path (rye, dry vermouth, Cynar, Benedictine, rosemary garnish).

It's delicious indeed, plus it helped me complete my entry for this month's MxMo Resin challenge.