Pocket Square
Six ingredients around a bitter orange amaro, shaken and served over ice
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 ozAmaro CioCiaroThe base; everything else is seasoning around itSubstitute: Amer Picon, which this bottle has long stood in for
- 1/2 ozGinA London dry, for backbone not flavour
- 3/4 ozLemon JuiceFresh
- 1/4 ozCampariNo more than that
- 1/4 ozElderflower LiqueurAny more and it takes the drink over
- 1/2 ozSimple SyrupOne to one
Instructions
- Add 1 1/2 oz Amaro CioCiaro, 1/2 oz gin, 1/4 oz Campari, 1/4 oz elderflower liqueur, 3/4 oz lemon juice and 1/2 oz simple syrup to a shaker
Measure the quarter-ounces; eyeballed they take the drink over
- Fill with ice and shake hard
- Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice
- Express a grapefruit peel over the surface and drop it in
Technique Notes
Measure the quarter-ounces properly. Per serving, Campari and elderflower are a quarter each against an ounce and a half of amaro, which is the ratio that keeps them as seasoning; eyeballed to a half they take the drink over and it stops tasting of CioCiaro at all.
Why the Pocket Square Works
Bitter orange is the spine of the drink and everything else angles at it: gin puts juniper underneath, Campari adds a second bitterness from a different direction, elderflower lifts the top, and the grapefruit peel expressed over the surface ties the citrus back to the amaro it started from.