Descent into Averna

Continuing my love of reverse-engineering libations that I have enjoyed while out and about, we return today with a cocktail currently featured on the Bern's Steakhouse menu. Thankfully, the good folks at Bern's graciously publish the key components in each of their cocktails and what caught my eye on a recent visit was this particular libation's hybrid approach to a Black Manhattan and a Sazerac. As served to me at Bern's, the libation was well-balanced, but I felt the rye whiskey was the most pronounced component. Quite remarkable considering the drink contains not one, not two, but three absolute sledgehammers of aroma and taste: allspice dram, amaro and absinthe.

 

As the cocktail appears on the Bern's Menu, note the missing 's' in allspice, tsk tsk

 

For my first attempt at recreating this libation, I decided to honor my tried-and-true Black Manhattan recipe and use a 2:1 ratio of rye whiskey to amaro.

 

Edit - I've been tinkering with various ratios of rye to amaro and I do believe a two ounces of rye to three-quarters of an ounce of amaro is the sweet spot for this particular libation. The recipe below has been updated to reflect this.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces well-aged Rye whiskey (here I used Pikesville Rye but can also vouch for Rittenhouse rye)
• 1 ounce 0.75 ounces Averna amaro
• 0.25 ounce St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
• Six Four dashes of Black Walnut Bitters
• Absinthe rinsed stemware
  

Composition

Swirl absinthe into a chilled cocktail glass, set aside in the freezer while you mix the drink.

Place the rye whiskey, amaro, allspice dram, and black walnut bitters into a cocktail shaker, stir and taste. Adjust to personal preference and when happy, add ice to the shaker and stir until well chilled. Strain into the absinthe rinsed glass and garnish however you see fit.

 

Commentary

As I strained the cocktail into the glass and noticed its significantly dark color, I immediately suspected my version would be punchier than what I was served at Bern's. My suspicions were confirmed within a few sips; my version had a much stronger Averna (and allspice) vibe than the Bern's version. I'd wager that Bern's uses a half (ish) ounce of Averna, which is understandable considering they are making libations for a wide array of palates and amaro can be quite polarizing. To my tastes, I am sticking with the full ounce of Averna, but do recommend you tailor this component to your tastes. I will decrease the amount of walnut bitters I use in future versions however, somewhere in the two to four dashes range will work better than the six I used. Lastly, please do not omit the absinthe rinse. Just as in a Sazerac, the absinthe envelops the entire cocktail with an enchanting aura that is always present, yet never gratuitous in its presence. Delicious.

 

Cheers!