The Stinger is a cocktail that has been falling out of favor for about 60 years now. This is really a huge miss for bartenders looking for an easy out. But today’s Cocktail Advent Calendar will invite you to remember the simple joy of the Stinger. But today’s Stinger will actually be an Improved Stinger. It is called an Improved Stinger because it is not a Stinger and as we all know, when you change an ingredient of a classic YOU HAVE CHANGED IT INTO A NEW FUCKING COCKTAIL. And thusly, it needs a new name.
Hey Mirror Spock, is it true that the Improved Stinger is trying to kill the Stinger?
The minty aspect of our Improved Stinger will come from Branca Menta. If Fernet Branca is an arctic whirlwind of candy coated minty thorns, Branca Menta is a cool (angry) breeze. Some people would call it a Mirror Mirror Fernet some call it the devil. Though Branca Menta won’t be taking over for Fernet Branca anytime soon, it is a lovely replacement for creme de menthe which may have been good at some point in history, though I am unaware of it. The Stinger is actually quite a good cocktail, there isn’t really any reason for it to not come back.
The Improved Stinger
The Improved Stinger
- 1.5 oz cognac
- .5 oz branca menta
- .25 oz simple syrup
The Improved Stinger is truly a great holiday time cocktail, one to wear a scarf with.
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A close relative, of course, is a drink Audrey came up with a few years ago, the Good Night Irene — equal parts Maker’s Mark (you want the wheated-bourbon softness) & Branca Menta, over crushed ice.
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