Not too soon at all.
Too Soon/Not Too Soon.
Last month we looked at a creation of mine called The Fermi Paradox which used Cynar as its main bitter component. I’d like to think you might already have been in possession of this lovely Italian ingredient or are considering buying some. In either case, perhaps you are wondering what else you can do with it? One of the very best uses of Cynar is in Sam Ross’s strangely named Too Soon which first appeared in Sasha Petraske’s posthumous Regarding Cocktails in 2016 (an absolutely indispensable cocktail book in my opinion). It is an example of what I call a “hybrid” cocktail having elements of both the sour and aromatic styles although you could also argue that it is simply a sour with a split base of gin and Cynar. Whatevers. The interesting aspect of the Too Soon is the somewhat unusual technique of shaking with thin slices of fruit in the shaker. This has the effect of adding a little bit of juice as well as some oil from the peel into the drink which in turn brighten the whole affair. Subtle but essential. It is an absolutely sublime drink in my view but the down-side is that makes an unholy mess in your shaker. But it’s worth it. Sam used two thin slices of orange to mess up his shaker but, as tasty as that is, I decided to defile mine with blood orange slices because a) they are in season and b) I reckon it’s even tastier with their inclusion. The change is far too slight to warrant a completely new name but I chucked a “not” on the front to acknowledge my tweak and to allow me to post a toastlink to one of my favourite songs. I’ve included both recipes below despite the small difference but I urge you to use the blood orange version while those wonderful russet dusted orbs of deliciosity are still in season. Yum.
Too Soon.
1oz / 30ml gin (nothing fancy required).
1oz / 30ml Cynar (accept no substitutes).
0.75oz / 22ml fresh lemon juice.
0.5oz / 15ml simple syrup.
2 thin slices of orange (from the widest part of the fruit).
Shake well with ice and double strain into a chilled Champagne coupé.
Not Too Soon.
1oz / 30ml gin (nothing fancy required).
1oz / 30ml Cynar (accept no substitutes).
0.75oz / 22ml fresh lemon juice.
0.5oz / 15ml simple syrup.
2 thin slices of blood orange (from the widest part of the fruit).
Shake well with ice and double strain into a chilled Champagne coupé.
Toast Throwing Muses.
