Rosita

 

Story:
Versions of the Rosita have been around since at least the 1970s, with one appearing in the Mr. Boston Bartender’s Guide.  No less a bartending personality than Gary“gaz” Regan read about the drink in the early 00s in an article by his friend Terry Sullivan, but neither knew where it came from.  Eventually Sullivan consulted his notes and found to his surprise that he learned of this version of the Rosita from Regan’s own cocktail book, The Bartender’s Bible.  Regan didn’t believe it until he saw it for himself. A good version of the story is here.  Of course maybe it's better to get gaz's own version.

The Rosita starts with a Negroni template but swaps out the gin for tequila, of all things.  It then joins the “perfect” group of cocktails, meaning that the vermouth is split 50/50 between sweet and dry.  You can use either blanco or reposado tequila.  I went with blanco for its brightness. Reposado tequila supposedly moves the Rosita closer in flavor to the Boulevardier, so I'll have to try that at some point as well. 

Recipe:

1.5 oz tequila (blanco or reposado)

0.5 oz sweet vermouth 

0.5 oz dry vermouth 

0.5 oz Campari 

 1 dash Angostura bitters

garnish: lemon twist

-add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice; stir until chilled
-strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice

-express the lemon twist over the drink then drop it in.

Monte Carlo

Story:

The Monte Carlo is a ridiculously simple drink with just three ingredients, all of which you’ve had before.  But put them together in this way and it’s something special.  David Embury was the first to write down the recipe in 1948’s The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, but nobody’s sure who actually invented it.  The Monte Carlo is most often classified as a Manhattan variation with the vermouth swapped out for Benedictine, but there are a number of other closely related drinks that are simple and rye-based.  I think of it as a simplified Vieux Carre that I can make when I don’t feel like messing with that many ingredients.  You’ll want a spicy rye to balance the Benedictine – I used Rittenhouse 100.

Recipe:

2 oz rye whiskey (Rittenhouse 100)

0.5 oz Benedictine

2 dashes Angostura bitters

          garnish: lemon twist

-add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice; stir until chilled
-strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice

-express lemon twist over the drink, then garnish the drink with it.

Little Italy

Story:
This cocktail was created in 2005 by Audrey Sanders (holy crap, I can't believe I'm just now learning about this person) for the opening menu of the Pegu Club in New York City (another tragic casualty of the pandemic).  The drink named for the combination of American (rye) and Italian (Cynar and sweet vermouth) ingredients and is apparently a nod to the Little Italy neighborhood next to the bar.  A standard Manhattan is whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters.  This riff on the standard swaps out the bitters for a bit of Cynar, and that makes a big difference.  There is a LOT of bitterness here, but the rye and vermouth balance it out.  This is a slow sipper for me, but I love every minute of it. 
NOTE: Absolutely everyone online gives Audrey Saunders credit for inventing the Little Italy.  The same recipe is on the side of the Cynar bottle under the name "Cynar Manhattan".  I can't seem to find when they put it there and why they don't give the inventor credit.  
SECOND NOTE: Today I learned that it's pronounced "CHEE-nahr".  Who knew?

Recipe:

2 oz rye whiskey

0.75 oz sweet vermouth

0.5 oz Cynar

          garnish: 3 cocktail cherries, skewered

-add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice; stir until chilled
-strain into a chilled coupe

-garnish with cherry skewer