The Last Page
A stirred, spirit-forward nightcap of cognac, sweet vermouth, Cherry Heering and unsweetened tart cherry juice with aromatic and orange bitters, served up with a lemon peel and a brandied cherry.
Ingredients
- 2 oz / 60 ml Cognac, VSOP
- 0.5 oz / 15 ml Sweet vermouth
- 0.25 oz / 7.5 ml Cherry liqueur (Cherry Heering style)
- 0.25 oz / 7.5 ml Tart cherry juice, unsweetened
- 1 dash Angostura aromatic bitters
- 1 dash Orange bitters
- Technique
- Stirred
- Glass
- Nick and Nora
- Ice
- Served up
- Prep
- 4 min · Easy
- Garnish
- Expressed lemon peel, discarded, and one brandied cherry dropped in.
- Approximate strength
- about 25% ABV in the glass
- Allergens
- Sulfites
Method
Fill a Nick and Nora glass with ice and water and set it aside to chill.
A small glass for a last pour. Let it go cold while you finish the paragraph.
Measure the cognac, sweet vermouth, cherry liqueur, tart cherry juice and both bitters into a mixing glass.
Six measures, each one a sentence the others needed.
Fill the mixing glass three-quarters with cubed ice and stir with a barspoon for 25 to 30 seconds until the outside of the glass is cold to the touch and the drink has gained a little water.30 sec
Stir slowly. The cherry needs cold and time, never force.
Empty the chilled glass and strain the drink into it through a julep or Hawthorne strainer.
Garnet in a small bowl of glass, nothing floating, nothing hurried.
Express a strip of lemon peel over the surface by squeezing it skin-side down about two inches above the drink, then discard the peel. Drop in one brandied cherry.
A breath of lemon on the last line, and one cherry to mark the place.
Flavor notes
Dried apricot, raisin and vanilla from the cognac, a stewed-cherry middle from the liqueur, herbal sweetness from the vermouth, and the juice keeps the finish tart and dry so the drink stays a nightcap rather than a dessert. Served cold and small; please enjoy responsibly.
Substitutions
- Cherry Heering: Luxardo Sangue Morlacco, same measure, or kirsch (clear cherry eau-de-vie) at 0.25 oz (7.5 ml) · Sangue Morlacco keeps the color and sweetness; kirsch makes the drink drier, paler and more spirit-led.
- Sweet vermouth: Amaro Nonino or Amaro Montenegro, 0.5 oz (15 ml) · Darker and more bitter, closer to a Black Manhattan in shape.
- Cognac: Armagnac or a well-aged American brandy, 2 oz (60 ml) · Armagnac is more rustic and reads drier; American brandy is often sweeter and softer.
- Tart cherry juice: Tart cherry concentrate, 1 barspoon · Same tart lift with less water; stir a few seconds longer.
Without alcohol
Stir 2 oz (60 ml) unsweetened tart cherry juice, 1 oz (30 ml) strong cold-brewed black tea, 0.5 oz (15 ml) of a zero-proof aged-spirit alternative and 1 barspoon rich demerara syrup with ice for 20 seconds; strain up and finish with the lemon peel. The tea supplies the tannic grip the vermouth and cognac would have given.
Batching
For 8 drinks: 16 oz (480 ml) cognac, 4 oz (120 ml) sweet vermouth, 2 oz (60 ml) cherry liqueur, 2 oz (60 ml) tart cherry juice, 8 dashes Angostura, 8 dashes orange bitters, plus 5 oz (150 ml) filtered water to stand in for stirring dilution. Bottle and refrigerate; the juice makes it perishable, so use within 5 days and shake the bottle before pouring. Serve 3.75 oz (110 ml) per chilled glass straight from the refrigerator, or give each pour a 10 second stir over ice for extra cold. No house preparation is needed for this drink.
A cognac and tart cherry nightcap, stirred and served up
The lamp is low, the chapter is nearly done, and there is one glass left to pour before the book goes back on the shelf. The Last Page is a nightcap in the Manhattan shape: cognac for the warm, orchard-fruited backbone, sweet vermouth for depth, a little dark cherry liqueur, and a measure of unsweetened tart cherry juice to keep the whole thing honest. Stirred until cold and quiet, served up, with a lemon peel to brighten the final line.