Musk is a specialized secretion produced by some animals to mark their territory, originally named after the musk deer which has these glands under the abdominal skin. The glands are pod-like and may have been mistaken for testicles, because the word musk derives from that original Greek and even Sanskrit word root. I wouldn’t recommend making a cocktail with actual musk, but I have had this idea for a tasty “musk themed” cocktail using amaro for a while, and was waiting for an appropriate pairing. It turns out that otters have prominent musk glands, so it is time to debut this irreverent drink.

The other interesting component of this amaro “sour” style cocktail is that it is sweetened with date syrup, also known as silan. The syrup is readily available at specialty food shops or online, and should be fairly common depending on where you live. It’s a staple of middle eastern cooking and lends a rich depth of flavor in place of standard sugar. It compliments this particular amaro, which tastes of cola, cloves, lemon and orange, extremely well. The drink is further anchored with rye whisky, and a touch of Fernet Branca, which balances the sweetness of the syrup and base amaro perfectly. It’s so delicious you should go tweet about it – cheers!

Silan Musk

1 ½ oz Cio Ciaro

¾ oz rye

1 oz lemon

½ oz silan syrup

¼ oz Fernet Branca

½ oz egg white (or magic foamer)