Montenegro Recipe

Prepare glass

Place a mixing glass and your serving glass (Old Fashioned or rocks glass) on the bar. If you prefer the cocktail slightly chilled without dilution, place the serving glass in the freezer for a few minutes or fill it with ice while you mix.

Combine ingredients

Add the Italian amaro, sweet vermouth, orange curaçao, and Angostura bitters into the mixing glass.

Add ice

Fill the mixing glass with plenty of ice (enough to come near the top of the glass).

Stir

Using a bar spoon, stir the mixture gently for 20–30 seconds (about 20–30 revolutions) until the drink is well chilled and properly diluted — the mixing glass should feel noticeably cold to the touch.

Prepare serving glass

If you chilled the serving glass earlier, remove it now. Discard any ice if you used it for chilling. If you want a single large cube, add the large ice cube to the serving glass.

Strain

Using a julep or hawthorne strainer, strain the stirred cocktail from the mixing glass into the serving glass over the large ice cube (or into the chilled glass without ice, per preference).

Garnish

Express an orange twist over the surface of the cocktail by pinching it skin-side down to release oils, then rub the rim of the glass with the twist and drop it into the drink.

Serve

Serve immediately. Encourage sipping slowly to appreciate the amaro's herbal complexity balanced by the vermouth and orange curaçao.