Last year’s “Puzzle Box No 2” cocktail made mention of another drink called the “Dovetail”, but mostly owed its existence to the New York Sour, a favorite classic.  With all these impossible dovetailed details on display this year, I thought we should revisit the Dovetail cocktail for its own merit.  A modern drink created at the Bradstreet Craftshouse in Minneapolis, the Dovetail combines orange liqueur (originally with Grand Marnier), grapefruit and lemon juices, and orange bitters.  Grapefruit are coming into season here in Texas as well, where the Rio Star are the reddest, sweetest variety in the world, so it dovetails nicely.  

The Dovetail adapted from Bradstreet Craftshouse

I’m more partial to a less sweet cocktail, so used Pierre Ferrand’s Dry Curacao (rather than the sweeter Grand Marnier), a modern recreation of the “old style” of French curacao found in the 19th century and made in the “ancient method”.  This involves using a base spirit of grape brandy, and a subtle technique known as mise en value (“enhancing”) in which unnoticed background flavors are used to bring out the main flavor (in this case, orange).  These mystery ingredients, such as sun-dried walnut skins, grilled almonds, and prunes, are aged in cognac before being added to the mix to create the orange “essence”.  The flavor is just right and fantastic when trying to experience how classic old cocktails might have tasted in their hey-day. Perhaps I like this orange liqueur even more due to the description of this process by Alexandre Gabriel, the owner of Pierre Ferrand: "You don't taste the puzzle, but the orange in its whole."  Here’s a Texas toast to these delightful dovetails. Cheers ya’ll!

These delights dovetail nicely!

Dovetail (adapted from Bradstreet Craftshouse):

2 oz orange liqueur (such as Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao)

1 1/2 oz fresh ruby red grapefruit juice

3/4 oz fresh lemon juice

3 generous dashes of orange bitters

grapefruit twist garnish

Shake ingredients together over ice and staring into a favorite glass.  Express grapefruit and garnish.