Adapted from a recipe by Punch Room Head Mixologist Bob Peters.
Ingredients
1 1/3 oz. Bulleit Bourbon
1/2 oz. Simple Syrup
1/2 oz. Fernet Branca Menta
8 Fresh Mint Leaves
Mint Sprig, for garnish
Instructions
Muddle mint leaves in a shaker. Add bourbon, simple syrup, and Fernet Branca Menta. Add ice and shake. Double strain and pour over crushed ice in a julep cup. Garnish with fresh mint sprig.
Stir ingredients with ice until very cold. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Notes
Bourbon can be substituted for rye, if you prefer it, although it will result in a sweeter, less assertive drink.
Maraschino Liqueur is not the syrup that comes in a jar of maraschino cherries. It is a robust, clear liqueur made from Maraska cherries. Luxardo is the most popular brand.
If you don't have any Amer Picon – and you probably don't – you can substitute Torani Amer, Amaro Ramazzotti, Amaro CioCiaro, or experiment with another type of amaro.
Build in a highball or collins glass filled with ice. Add Amer Picon and grenadine, then give a quick stir. Top with club soda, then the brandy float. Garnish with a lemon twist.
When I mentioned to a friend recently that I had made a batch of Picon Punches, he joked that he preferred the Caprican Cooler. I didn't know what he was talking about, but apparently fans of Battlestar Galactica will recognize that both Picon and Caprica are colonies (planets?) in the show. The discussion ended with me pledging to create a drink to fit the name.
I wanted to make something that was akin to a Picon Punch, and also wanted it to have a vibrant color. (I imagined that Caprica was one of those brightly-colored planets like Mars.) So this is what I came up with:
The Caprican Cooler
Build in a highball glass over ice:
2 oz Campari 1/2 oz Cointreau 1/2 oz lemon juice 2 oz club soda
Give it a quick stir.
Float 1 oz of aged rum. (I used Flor de Caña Grand Reserve 7 years.)
Garnish with a lemon twist.
It came out pretty tasty. I tried to take the edge off the Campari, but still keep the bitter flavors that dominate the Picon Punch. Like that drink, this one packs quite a punch.
(Thanks to Dan Chadwick of Kindred Cocktails for his feedback on the early recipe.)