Satan's Whisker's

What seems to be a variation of the venerable Bronx cocktail and its child The Income Tax cocktail is a Satan's Whiskers.  Made either "straight" or "curly" the gin based drink must be made with fresh orange juice (as most craft cocktails demand) and is a really crude thing if Angostura bitters are used in lieu of the called for orange bitters.  As mentioned before most of the recipes I'm using are from Dale DeGroff's The Essential Cocktail

Satan's Whiskers (Straight)

1 oz Gin -- (Tanqueray)

1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth -- (Martini)

1/2 oz Dry Vermouth -- (Noilly Prat)

1/2 oz Grand Marnier

1 oz Orange Juice

Dash Orange Bitters -- (Fee Bro's)

So this is clearly the straight version which uses Grand Marnier instead of Curacao and heavier on the gin than Ted Haigh's recipe from Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails which also uses a 1/2oz of orange juice. (this version to possibly be tried later tonight).  I made 2 half batches, one with orange bitters, one with Angostura Aromatic bitters one with Fee Brother's orange bitters.  The Angostura fought vehemently with the other ingredients and is better left out entirely than substituted in.  The Fee Brothers brought very little to the table however and i will endeavor to try this drink again with another brand.

Overall the drink was quite soft and refreshing, not aggressively acidic, nor sweet, although i would have liked to have used a tarter style of orange, the Tanqueray played in the background a bit, but the overwhelming orange taste obscured any vermouth notes if you are a vermouth fan.  For those who love fresh orange juice, this drink is for you, it highlights all the good notes of the fruit and is infinitely more complex and refreshing than the one note Screwdriver, or, god forbid, its parental unit, the Orange Blossom.  Most certainly a spring and summer drink, but it would be worth waiting all winter for one of these.