Another Old Fashioned With an Amaro Accent

The Toronto is a good idea. What else can you do with that good idea?

If the Toronto is just a rye Old Fashioned plus bitter, herbal Fernet-Branca, then there should be other potential cocktails that work along the same lines. It’s a functioning structure — a good idea that should be able to produce more good ideas.

In theory, then, you ought to be able to modify it according to your particular needs and wishes — or just whatever you have on your bar cart. You can think of this as the Old Fashioned + bitter liqueur subtype of cocktail. 

Not every combination works with this structure. For example, I was quite disappointed with a Toronto riff that swapped Amaro Averna for Fernet-Branca.

Averna and rye whiskey generally work well together, and Averna is sweeter than Fernet, which should make for an easier meld. But Averna’s wintry, citrus-and-rosemary notes just didn’t want to fit into the rye/maple/bitters ensemble. It was bad casting. 

On the other hand, a bourbon version of this drink with Amaro Nonino — the signature bottle in the Paper Plane, and the same stuff we recently used in the chill-lacking Just the Paperwork —  works very well.

Sadly, this does not quite give us a universal theory of the Old Fashioned + amaro cocktail.

It works some of the time, but not all of the time. I’ve had enough misses with this format that I can’t tell you that any plug-and-play riff is a sure bet. 

But it does work some of the time, and those somes of times are pleasantly complex and delicious. 

Since this drink is based on a cocktail called the Toronto, we’ll pay tribute with a nod to one of South Park’s greatest contributions to North American foreign relations… 

Blame Canada 

• 2 dashes Angostura Aromatic bitters

• ¼ ounce rich simple (2:1) syrup

• ¼ ounce Amaro Nonino 

• 2 ounces bourbon, preferably Wild Turkey 101 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass. 

2. Add ice, then stir until chilled. 

3. Strain into a rocks glass over a single large rock. 

4. Garnish with a strip of orange peel. 

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