French Kick

I was a little surprised at how many spirit-forward drinks I found that called for strawberry syrup or liqueur. Gin and Cognac were by far the most common bases for these drinks and many of them called for vermouth. And several of the books I found these drinks in have lots of Campari-laced recipes (including the Café Royal book, from which I took the drink’s name). So I turned this into a kind of subtly strawberry Negroni! It’s delicious and would lend itself nicely to batching for a summer soirée.

INGREDIENTS

1 oz. gin
½ oz. Cognac
¾ oz. strawberry-infused sweet vermouth or strawberry aperitif
½ oz. Campari
Scant ¼ oz. strawberry syrup
5 drops saline solution
5 drops citric acid solution or orange citrate bitters

Garnish: grapefruit twist

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ABV LEVEL

Combine everything in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir for 20 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass over a big cube. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.