Mikado Cocktail

Given how intertwined the histories of cocktails and musical theater have been, it’s no surprise that Gilbert & Sullivan’s most problematic operetta has a cocktail named after it. The Mikado–originally an Improved Brandy Cocktail with crème de noyaux, Curaçao, orgeat, and Angostura bitters–has an ancestor in the Japanese Cocktail (brandy, orgeat, bitters) from 1862. Our version ditches the Curaçao and orgeat in favor of crème de cacao and blanc quinquina; a grapefruit twist bolsters the bitterness.

INGREDIENTS

1½ oz. brandy
¼ oz. blanc quinquina
¼ oz. crème de noyaux
¼ oz. crème de cacao
1 barspoon rich simple syrup
4 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
2 dashes Angostura bitters
4 drops saline solution

Garnish: grapefruit twist

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ABV LEVEL

Combine all in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir for twenty seconds. Strain into a single rocks glass over regular cubes or a big cube. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.