Bittersweet Symphony Sour

Bittersweet Symphony Sour

The Way begot one,

And the one, two;

Then the two begot three

And three, all else.

the Tao Te Ching

This ancient description of the meaning of Yin Yang, from Lao Tzu, seems awfully like a cocktail recipe, no?  Clearly we are considering a Negroni here, the ultimate three part cocktail made from gin, Campari and sweet vermouth.  The brilliant brain behind Portland’s bustling bar Clyde Common created a version which uses a bit more gin, the lightly bitter aperitif Aperol, and the bittersweet Italian vermouth known as “Punt e Mes”, which means “point and a half” and describes its composition of one part sweet to a half part bitter.  He called it the “Bittersweet Symphony”, a name which rings true and feels all too apropos for this toast.  It would have been enough, but I felt the Yin Yang Master deserved more balance and I wanted a bit of sweet and sour to complete this pairing.  I continued the cycle and used the specs from Washington DC’s Farmers and Distillers “Negroni Sour” to achieve what I envisioned for this symphony.  I’ll raise a glass to Randal, his life, and his legacy.  He left behind plenty to puzzle over with appreciation.

Bittersweet Symphony Sour

Bittersweet Symphony Sour – adapted from Jeffrey Morganthaler and Farmers and Distillers

 1 ½ oz gin

1 oz Punt e Mes

1 oz Aperol

¾ oz fresh lemon

¼ oz fresh orange

¼ oz simple syrup

1 egg white

Dry shake egg white and lemon juice to froth (no ice), then add the remaining ingredients and shake with ice to chill.  Strain into a favorite glass and complete the cycle.

Bittersweet balance