Cynar

[Chris Amirault]

I picked up the rum in the perfume and roundness of the drink. It's not a rum drink, per se, in the sense that rum isn't the dominant liquor in the drink (like a Daiquiri, say); it's meant to showcase the Cynar's qualities. Which it does, alchemically.

[lostmyshape]

yeah... i think this is a great drink, too, but i love cynar. the cynar is definitely dominant, although i don't quite agree with chris's assessment that it tastes like artichoke. i know it's an artichoke liqueur, but i just can't associate it in my mind with artichokes. no matter, i love the stuff.

i used bacardi (it was the only white rum in the PA liquor store -- one of 4 non-spiced rums) and it most assuredly does not stand up to the chartruese, cynar, and mint. gets lost actually, but i think that bacardi is bland anyway. wish i had more assertive rums to try this with as i think it would make it even better. like i said, the cynar is dominant, but the chartruese and mint are very present. great drink!

[slkinsey]

Definitely an interesting drink. I didn't happen to have any white industrial rum around, so I had to choose between Flor de Caña gold and La Favorite. I decided to try the rhum agricole, as I figured it would have an easier time cutting through the Cynar. I was right, it worked very well.

I agree that Cynar doesn't have much of an artichoke flavor -- or rather doesn't have much of the flavor we associate with the parts of the artichoke we eat and (usually) cook. Nevertheless, is cocktail did seem to have a distinct background flavor that was quite evocative of artichoke.

[Chris Amirault]

That's a good way to put what I was trying to say, Sam: it evokes Artichoke, in a cocktail-y, Platonic sense.

I think I'll stop trying to describe this now. Cynar fans should give it a go.

[tikibars]

Here is a cocktail on the spring list at The Violet Hour.  It is the work of a very talented bartender there who goes by Kyle. 

The Art of Choke

Sampled this one on Thursday, as well as a second Cynar cocktail on the VH menu.

Good stuff!

[Jmahl]

Wow - a group of people who like Cynar -- there is hope.

Jmahl

[bostonapothecary]

Absinthe in San Francisco does the lovely Choke Artist as well....utilizing Cynar, sherry and tequila...

←

i haven't had tequila in the house in quite a while so i was looking for an inaugural cocktail...

1 oz. herradura anejo

1 oz. pastrana single vineyard manzanilla pasada

.75 oz. cynar

spoonful of tarassaco honey liqueur

why i needed to deviate from the equal parts recipe i don't know. i guess i just like finding a home for this strange honey... this was lovely. cynar is my favorite amaro.

[campus five]

Here's one of my favorite cocktails from Damian Windsor, formerly of Seven Grand here in LA.

The Weatherly

2 oz. Van Winkle Reserve 12yr Bourbon, or Rye

1/2 oz. Cynar

1/2 oz. Aperol

scant barspoon Fernet Branca

stir, cook, strain, flamed orange peel, up

So, good. I made this the other night for some friends, who heard the ingredients and laughed. They said it would never work. They ate, I mean drank their words. They loved it.

[bostonapothecary]

Here's one of my favorite cocktails from Damian Windsor, formerly of Seven Grand here in LA.

The Weatherly

2 oz. Van Winkle Reserve 12yr Bourbon, or Rye

1/2 oz. Cynar

1/2 oz. Aperol

scant barspoon Fernet Branca

stir, cook, strain, flamed orange peel, up

So, good. I made this the other night for some friends, who heard the ingredients and laughed. They said it would never work. They ate, I mean drank their words. They loved it.

←

hmm. i will try everything but his choice of whiskey... if it can't work with overholt its not worth drinking... besides that i'm totally intrigued...

[campus five]

The Van Winkle 12yr Bourbon was what he originally made it with, but it also works with rye, no problem.

I actually made it with Maker's the other night, because my friend had run out of rye (I know, the horror, the horror) and it was still really good.

[eipi10]

imust admit up front to being really drunk...so drunk that I decided to just pour some stuff into a shaker quasi-randomly and shake it. ("parts" are approximate.) But I have made this drink twice and I really like it...!

1 part Cynar

1 part absinthe

3-4 parts rye whiskey (rittenhouse 50%)

a couple of dashes of orange bitters

shaken with ice

good stuff. i mean, honestly, objectively, it tastes perfect to me....like a classic drink. interestingly, the strongest lingering aftertaste is the sweet Cynar.

i think the takeaway is that Cynar can help make some profound and delicious cocktails.

Edited October 12, 2008 by eipi10 (log)

[JAZ]

Well, we tried The Art of Choke tonight.  Unfortunately, for us, all we could taste was Cynar.

←

Are you sure that all you could taste was the Cynar? I ask because we all agreed that the drink tasted like the most spectacular artichoke we'd ever had.

ETA: I will note that we used more mint than Toby specifies, and it had been picked moments before the drink was made.

←

Based on the posts here and on the Rogue Cocktails topic, I've given this one a couple of tries. Although the second try was better than the first (which I tossed), I still just don't get the appeal. All I get is a big taste of bitter and a faint aftertaste of mint, like a really bad mouthwash.

[MikeHartnett]

Well, we tried The Art of Choke tonight.  Unfortunately, for us, all we could taste was Cynar.

←

Are you sure that all you could taste was the Cynar? I ask because we all agreed that the drink tasted like the most spectacular artichoke we'd ever had.

ETA: I will note that we used more mint than Toby specifies, and it had been picked moments before the drink was made.

←

Based on the posts here and on the Rogue Cocktails topic, I've given this one a couple of tries. Although the second try was better than the first (which I tossed), I still just don't get the appeal. All I get is a big taste of bitter and a faint aftertaste of mint, like a really bad mouthwash.

←

Honestly, it's one of my all-time favorites. Different strokes.

[Dave the Cook]

I fall in between on the Art of Choke. I wouldn't decline one, but neither would I buy a bottle of Cynar just to make it.

[bmdaniel]

I fall in between on the Art of Choke. I wouldn't decline one, but neither would I buy a bottle of Cynar just to make it.

←

I made my first one tonight - even with mint that was past sad, I thought it was spectacular. One of the most complex cocktails I've tasted. I also like that you get a completely different taste at the front (herbal daiquri) and then on the finish (bitter and cynary).

[eas]

Our house Negroni is from what Toby placed on the menu at Bradstreet in Mpls, with equal parts Campari and Cynar. It works so well that, unless I have my wife's other favorite amaro in its place, it gets booted back. Thank you Cynar, Toby, and a wife that cares!

[Marmish]

My favorite drink from Manifesto during the recent Heartland Gathering was the

edited to fix link

Edited August 12, 2009 by Marmish (log)

[Alchemist]

Our house Negroni is from what Toby placed on the menu at Bradstreet in Mpls, with equal parts Campari and Cynar.  It works so well that, unless I have my wife's other favorite amaro in its place, it gets booted back.  Thank you Cynar, Toby, and a wife that cares!

←

Just to be clear that this is not a- shudder- equal parts drink...

2 oz Tanqueray Gin

.25 oz Cynar

.25 oz Campari

1 oz Dolin Sweet Vermouth

13 drops Bradstreet Bitters (Regans Orange bitters will work)

Glass: Rocks

Ice: Sphere

Garnish: Lemon Peel

Orange Peel

Build in a mixing glass over 2 cracked KD cubes and 5 KD cubes. Stir. Strain over sphere into rocks glass.

Cheers,

Toby

[Ktepi]

I picked up my first bottle of Cynar recently, when I discovered drinkupny.com ships to NH (which has state-run liquor stores, and to which few vendors have a permit to ship).

I've mostly been mixing it with Plymouth gin -- anywhere from 1:2 to 2:1 -- and adding a cube or two of frozen fruit juice. This was originally an accident, when I realized I didn't have any actual ice because I'd forgotten I'd filled the ice cube tray with Santa Claus melon juice the day before, but it goes really well with either melon or huckleberry... enough that I'm debating ordering more huckleberries just for the sake of filling more ice cube trays.

[Bill Miller]

Everything sounds interesting, but does anyone eat savory food after these "cocktails"--???

[Chris Amirault]

I don't understand your question.

[eas]

Everything sounds interesting, but does anyone eat savory food after these "cocktails"--???

←

Bill - yes. The Negroni is a wonderful aperitif, especially with the amaro as a component. Leads well into all good things savory.

[Bill Miller]

Everything sounds interesting, but does anyone eat savory food after these "cocktails"--???

←

I like wine with dinner--I find the Cynar aftertaste unpleasent with a dinner with wine. Should you just drink it thru dinner or go to something else other than wine?

Edited August 13, 2009 by Bill Miller (log)

[Chris Amirault]

A lot of cocktails work well with certain tastes and not with others. They're usually not intended to be "during dinner" drinks, but rather as aperitifs, etc. You certainly can combine Cynar cocktails with food; I think that salty, umami-rich foods would make for a particularly nice combination. However, if you don't like the aftertaste, I'm not sure a good pairing can be found!

Edited August 13, 2009 by chrisamirault (log)

[Bill Miller]

A lot of cocktails work well with certain tastes and not with others. They're usually not intended to be "during dinner" drinks, but rather as aperitifs, etc. You certainly can combine Cynar cocktails with food; I think that salty, umami-rich foods would make for a particularly nice combination. However, if you don't like the aftertaste, I'm not sure a good pairing can be found!

←

That is what I asked, Cynar should not be followed by wine with dinner. A martini can. If you are having wine with dinner, dont start with a Cynar cocktail. Sorry, I didn't mention the wine in my original post.