Another week, another Cynar drink. What else can I say at this point?
This week’s is the Teenage Riot, which may be the only drink in the book that’s a riff on another drink in the book. The original would be the Heart of Glass, which I made last week. Both are built on a combo of whiskey, Cynar, and vermouth, and both are named after great rock songs. Another drink pandering directly to me, a music writer who loves whiskey and Cynar.
The Teenage Riot comes from Tonia Guffey, who was tending bar at New York establishments like the Flatiron Lounge, DRAM, and Lani Kai when she created it, presumably around 2011. It strays from the Heart of Glass in a few key ways:
Swapping the bourbon for rye. In my experience, bourbon and Cynar makes a warmer, rounder drink, while rye and Cynar is drier, spicier, more bitter. Both have their merits.
Bringing the whiskey and Cynar to equal parts. That has my attention.
Swapping the sweet vermouth for a split of dry vermouth and dry Amontillado sherry. This puts the drink next to other whiskey-dry vermouth cocktails like the Brooklyn, the Old Pal, and the Bensonhurst (which also involves Cynar).
Let’s talk more about the fortified wines. Dry vermouth is brighter, sharper, and more herbal than the sweet vermouth I used in the Heart of Glass; that’s why it pairs well with gin in a Martini. But what I’m really interested in is the amontillado sherry. Like vermouth, sherry is wine that’s been spiked with a spirit, but it doesn’t have botanicals. Instead, it’s aged, and in some cases oxidized — that is, allowed to interact with oxygen, which gives it a nutty, raisiny flavor. Sherry is made in a specific region of southern Spain, in many styles.1 The amontillado called for here is medium-dry and only oxidized for part of its aging. It’s very saline and slightly acidic, with a light raisin flavor on the finish. That makes me think it’ll pair great with the Cynar.
Teenage Riot2
1 1/2 ounce Cynar
1 1/2 ounce Rittenhouse Rye
1/2 ounce Dolin dry vermouth
1/2 ounce Lustau Dry Amontillado Sherry
2 dashes Regan’s orange bitters
Stir and strain into coup. Flamed lemon twist.
By Tonia Guffey
Maybe because I was looking for it, but the sherry is the first thing I notice in this drink. I get a similar raisin-like sweetness from Cynar, which the sherry brings out even more. But this isn’t a sweet drink — it’s very dry and crisp, much sharper than the Heart of Glass. The equal parts of rye and Cynar punches hard, leaving me with a lingering back-palate bitterness. I taste a bit of smoke, a bit of dark chocolate, and a bit of salt, but the thing that keeps drawing me back is that slight Cynar-sherry sweetness.
I still think I prefer the warmth of the Heart of Glass, but I’m very curious to compare both of these drinks to the similarly constructed Little Italy. I think I’ll have to do a flight in a bonus newsletter. For now, next week, I’ll be making the most difficult cocktail in the entire book (to me).
Later into this journey, I’ll make a few drinks that use sweeter, richer Pedro Ximenez sherry.
From Beta Cocktails by Maksym Pazuniak and Kirk Estopinal, 2011.