|| Negroni style | Aperol, Absinthe ||
Spotify recommended a song by Green Lung to me the other day. I didn’t know the band, and I didn’t know the song (which was pretty good and groovy), but it was the title that’s the source for this blog: Necropolitan Line.
I think it’s about a fictional London Underground line, a sort of analogue to the Metropolitan line. And as a good cocktail nerd, of course I had to think of the drink before I thought of the underground.
If there’s a Metropolitan, and also a Cosmopolitan, would there also be a Necropolitan cocktail out there? I didn’t find any, so there’s only one thing to do!
Let’s see, first things first, is there a pattern between the Metropolitan and the Cosmopolitan? Not that much, except that they’re not too weird or complex. One is a Manhattan style, the other a New Orleans Sour style.
Ingredient-wise, I felt the Necropolitan ought to have absinthe in it but also a fortified or aromatized wine. Let’s check other drinks with names in the Grim Reaper’s domain. The Corpse Reviver No. 2, the Zombie and the Oldest Living Confederate Widow all have Absinthe in them, so I guess I’m looking in the right direction already. Orange liqueur also seems a staple.
That’s already 3 ingredients, so before we go any further, time to think of specific combinations. There’s no bitter ingredient, but I could get the orange through an Amaro. I like Amari. Come to think of it, bitter-sweet seems apt for a Necropolitan. Couple with a vermouth or sherry to get a Negroni style drink. Awesome, that makes the Metro-Cosmo-Necro line-up into a balanced menu.
Now, details… Campari, or something less traditional? Same question with the Sweet Vermouth. If we go traditional on both counts, and add Absinthe, I felt I was only going to make a small variation, not something deserving of a big name like Necropolitan.
So, Aperol? Orangy, a slight anise that would probably pair well with the Absinthe. A dry vermouth would almost certainly work, I guessed, but again felt a little too safe perhaps. I decided to try Manzanilla sherry – a white sherry, the driest of them, slightly saline. I don’t actually like Manza much, and the bottle has been standing around for a long time (probably too long, but it didn’t taste off much, as far as I could remember what it was supposed to taste like), but I was prepared to bet this was a good a chance as any it would work.
As I usually do when experimenting like this, I pour just a small each of Aperol and Manza together in a shot glass, no ice, just to check where it’s going. Not bad! Add a tiny amount of Absinthe too. Hmm, definitely something there! Now, I’m still in need of a base spirit I suppose. The absinthe will be completely overpowering if I use it as more than a modifier. I reckoned it should be kinda intense, assertive, not just there for the alcohol. Mezcal makes sense and the smoke fit thematically.
That was basically it! Now to try it with ice, and here I found it needed a little extra sweetness, for my palate, just a dash of simple syrup. I tried tweaking the amounts, but returned to my original (roughly, as I’d been free-pouring in the first experiment – note to self, never do that!).
I recommend to make it first without the simple to see if you like it in its most assertive form, and then see if you like it better with a little extra sweetness, and it also gets smoother with a few drops of saline solution and Hopped Grapefruit bitters.
- 30 ml Aperol
- 30 ml Manzanilla Sherry
- 15 ml Mezcal
- 7.5 ml Absinthe
- 1 tsp simple syrup (optional)
- 2 drp Saline (optional)
- 3-6 drp Hopped Grapefruit bitters (optional)
Stir & Strain on ice
I’m satisfied that this is a good cocktail with an appropriate name! Or rather the right cocktail to go with the name 😉 It’s a bit out there, it’s assertive, it’s bittersweet with the bitter dominating the aftertaste, but you keep coming back to it. It’s interesting that the balance is quite important, but the ratios are close to a Negroni (if you count the mezcal and absinthe together).
7.5 ml of Absinthe is quite a lot in any drink, and it works here, but you could probably reduce it slightly if you want it more accessible. Too much Mezcal also overpowers it. I think this ratio is just right and quite addictive!
