CocktailDB.com has a feature called the Mixilator, which uses some kind of algorithm to generate custom cocktail recipes based on your stated preferences or mood. Last night I was feeling uninspired, and so I gave it a spin. Here is the cocktail it recommended that I make:
Chill cocktail glass. Prepare as follows:
In bar glass combine
- 1¾ oz Cinzano vermouth
- 1 oz Amer Picon
- ¾ oz raspberry flavored vodka
- 3 drops apricot syrup
Stir with lump ice and a measure of grace.
Strain into chilled cocktail glass.
Add a shake of almond.
OK, so it’s a bit presumptuous of the thing to assume that we have raspberry-flavored vodka. But I’m sure that if I went to the store I could get some. I’m a bit less confident that I could quickly locate the apricot syrup, but never mind that.
But Amer Picon? As I understand it, the stuff hasn’t been available in the United States for decades. I suppose I can buy some the next time I’m in France, but that hardly helps me make that drink this weekend. There is a product that I’ve read is similar, called Torani Amer, and it happens that I even know of a place that sells it! But it’s rare enough that most people would be out of luck.
Very peculiar.
