On the Cynar Trail – and a Tip of the Hat to Eleni

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As Eleni mentioned in our post about The Sunday Night Cocktail Class, Adam introduced us to Cynar as a mixing spirit when he made The Dunaway. I was intrigued by the spirit – a bitter, cola-like  liqueur – similar to Campari but not as bitter nor pretty. After the class,  Eleni scanned the internet for cocktail recipes using Cynar and sent me a compilation of those she thought most intriguing. I set out to find out more about this odd beverage and try some of the cocktails she had unearthed.

Cynar is an Italian digestif based upon the leaves of the artichoke plant. Just a bit weird, isn’t it?  These and 12 other herbs and plants make up the recipe for this spirit. There is some evidence that artichoke leaves have certain health benefits. Who knew? Cynar is relatively light – 16.5% alcohol – making it akin to a fortified wine. As a digestif, it is drunk – either straight or on the rocks, with soda or tonic – after meals to aid in digestion. This is the case in Europe. However, in the U.S. and Brazil, it’s used increasingly as a mixer. And this brings me to the cocktail recipes Eleni sent to me.

In a previous post, I’d written about my fondness for gin; as I perused the recipes, I was attracted to those based upon gin, particularly the two that called for Tanqueray 10.

 The first was the Cin Cyn. This a riff upon the Negroni, but where the Negroni is equal parts gin, sweet vermouth and Campari, the Cin Cyn alters the proportions – 3 parts gin, 2 parts sweet vermouth (I used Noilly Prat Rouge) and 1 part Cynar; all added to an ice-filled rocks glass and stirred. This was quite different from the Negroni in which all three elements blend seamlessly together. Here the gin was dominant –  which was fine with me. Nor was the Cin Cyn as bitter as the Negroni. I enjoyed the drink and knew that my digetive tract was benefitting also.

Next up was the Tonica al Fresco, a cocktail devised by Dale DeGroff, author of “The Craft of the Cocktail”. The inspiration for this drink is the Gin and Tonic. Cynar and orange bitters are added to a G. and T.  – 3 parts gin – Tanqueray –  to 1 part Cynar in an ice-filled highball glass;  followed by 2 dashes of orange bitters (I used Fee Bros. West Indian Bitters); then tonic water;  finished with a squeeze of a lime wedge. Beforehand, I thought that this was going to be too bitter – the bitterness of both the Cynar and of the quinine in the tonic; however, it wasn’t. The Cynar and bitters added a depth to the drink that isn’t usually present in a G. and T. Again, an enjoyable libation.

And so I’m off on the Cynar trail. In addition to the Dunaway which I learned from Adam, I now find my repetoire of cocktails using Cynar growing – an enjoyable and beneficial pursuit.

Tagged as: cynar, Gin