Easy's Cocktail Lounge Recipe

Prepare glass

If using the absinthe rinse, pour ~1/8 tsp absinthe into a chilled rocks glass, swirl to coat the inside, then discard any excess. If not using absinthe, chill the glass in the freezer for a few minutes or fill with ice while you build the drink.

Combine ingredients

In a mixing glass, add 2 oz bourbon, 1 oz sweet vermouth, 0.5 oz amaro, 0.25 oz simple syrup, and 2 dashes orange bitters.

Add ice and stir

Fill the mixing glass with large ice cubes. Stir gently and steadily for 20–30 seconds (about 20–30 back-and-forth strokes) until the mixture is well-chilled and slightly diluted — the mixing glass should frost slightly.

Strain

Discard the chilling ice from your rocks glass (if used). Using a julep or Hawthorne strainer, double-strain the chilled cocktail into the prepared rocks glass over one large ice cube or sphere.

Garnish

Express the oils of an orange peel by holding it skin-side down over the drink and giving it a firm twist so the oils spray onto the surface; run the peel around the rim and drop it into the glass. Optionally skewer a Luxardo or brandied cherry and rest it on the ice.

If you prefer slightly sweeter, increase simple syrup to 0.5 oz. For a drier, more spirit-forward cocktail, reduce vermouth to 0.75 oz. Adjust amaro to taste — more will add herbal bitterness, less will make the drink rounder.