Mediterranean Cocktail

A cousin of the Negroni, which is made with equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth, the Mediterranean Cocktail replaces Campari with Cynar and uses a gin made from grapes, melons and mint, all of which can be found in abundance in the Mediterranean.

To be sure, you can make this drink with any good gin, sweet vermouth and Cynar. If you did, you'd have a very drinkable Cin Cyn cocktail on your hands, with which we won't quibble. What makes this a Mediterranean Cocktail is the specific flavor profiles of the ingredients below, plus the addition of muddled fennel fronds. We can say from experience that one of these leads very nicely to two. A third can be briefly considered but saner parties should probably open a nice rosé wine to keep the evening moderately on the rails.

TOOLS

Chilled cocktail glasses. They can be either martini glasses if you want to serve it straight up or old fashioned glasses if you want to pour over a sphere of ice;
Cocktail shaker;
Muddler;
Fine mesh strainer;

Mediterranean Cocktail

INGREDIENTS FOR ONE DRINK; DOUBLE AS NECESSARY (fair warning: if you live in a rural area, we say good for you but the ingredients may require a bit of searching and perhaps a delivery or two; it will be worth it)

1-2 TB diced fennel fronds and an inch or two of diced stalks (fronds are the green tops of fennel bulbs; the stalks extend from the bulbs). Save the fennel bulb for a salad or, better yet, roast quartered over high heat on the grill and dress simply with sea salt, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a generous shaving of parmigiano reggiano;
1 oz. Jack's Gin #3: Melon and Mint;
1 oz. Cynar;
1 oz. Carpano Antica Formula vermouth;
Ice;
Lemon or orange peel, or amarena cherries;

DIRECTIONS

Muddle the diced fennel fronds and stalks in the cocktail shaker. If you need a little grit to work the fennel, add a scant 1/2 tsp. of sugar. If that sugar happened to be flavored with vanilla beans, we'll nod in appreciation (although don't go crazy on the sugar; there's enough sugar in the Cynar and vanilla in the Carpano to keep this cocktail in balance). Pour in 1 oz. of gin. Muddle some more. Muddle as if your life depends on the amount of flavor you are able to extract from the fennel. We promise: the taste of fennel won't overpower the drink. Extra credit will be given to those who even let the fennel and gin marinate for a few minutes. Go light the barbecue or start preparing a cheese tray for your guests.

Add to the cocktail shaker the Cynar and Carpano Antica Formula. Fill it up with ice. At this point, we shall leave it up to you as to whether or not you want to shake or stir. As long as you strain this cocktail so that no one ends up with a mouthful of fennel fronds, the method of chilling the cocktail is up to your personal preference. For this one, we enjoy bashing the crap out of the fennel and also like the light froth the drink makes when we shake it. Now, if we were making a martini, we would climb atop our very high horse and insist on stirring, but that's a lesson for another time. Whichever method you decide with the Mediterranean cocktail, just get it achingly cold and let the ice dilute the cocktail just a bit.

Strain into a cocktail glass (hence, the inclusion of the mesh strainer in the Tools) and either garnish with the cherries or spritz the citrus peel over the drink, rub the peel around the rim of the glass and place in the drink. You could even include both the cherries and peel for the best of both flavors: the citrus kick and cherry finish.