Occasionally while I’m looking through cocktail books, I’ll make a list of liquors and ingredients I want to purchase to use in the future. Then I buy them. And they sit on my liquor shelf. For ever.
I picked up a bottle of Canton awhile back, but I wasn’t really head over heels in love with it when I tried it. I figured it was best mixed in to something, however I had some serious failures the first couple times until I hit upon this drink.
Remember those roasted oranges from last time? I put some brown sugar on a couple when I roasted them and decided to muddle them here. 
1-1/2 oz. Broker’s Gin
3/4 oz. Domaine de Canton
3/4 oz. Aperol
3 slices of roasted brown sugar orange rounds (reserve the nicest for garnish)
3 dashes of Scrappy’s Aromatic Bitters
Muddle the orange slices with the Canton in the bottom of a mixing glass. Add ice to about half way up the glass, then add in the rest of the ingredients. Shake and strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a twisted, brown sugar coated orange wheel.
The very syrupy Canton evens out here and the drink is quite light and refreshing. There is a nice bite from the ginger and aromatic bitters with subtle orange notes. The garnish also repeats the citrus nose with a wonderful sweetness and in the back somewhere a sharpness from the browned sugar.
Side note: I recently went nuts at Bar Keeper here in Los Angeles and picked up a bunch of bitters to play around with. It’s my goal to feature all of the bottles here in a recipe in the coming months. This bottle of Scrappy’s Aromatic Bitters I got in a sampler pack is quickly becoming an occasional substitute in Manhattans. It has a nice level of spice that works well if you are using Carpano Antica for sweet vermouth.
I loved everything about this and will 100% guarantee to take it out for a spin once I get a new bottle of plymouth or aviation. Im baffled by the canton not really impressing you. Its probably my go-to liqueur when I’m looking to spruce something up. What is your “go-to” liqueur that you find indispensable at your home bar?
I think I need to keep trying with the Canton. I love ginger… and I will make it work somehow. As for my “go-to” liqueur right now: Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot Liqueur. Holy cow, it’s delicious and really versatile. I’ve been adding it to classic drinks all the way to Tiki drinks and everything that is stuck between those two points. I’m going to pick up a couple other fruit liqueurs from them and give them a try soon too.