Napoleon (DIY Amer Picon Recipe)

Lots of cocktails purport to be quintessentially French, which is to say they belong to a French tradition of drinking or use a selection of French-made ingredients. The Napoleon goes so far as to claim France's most notorious Emperor.

But setting all that bluster aside, Napoleon's namesake cocktail is an excellent mix of France's hard-to-find bitter aperitif wines. Amer Picon--so rare in its pre-prohibition form outside of Paris that we have to resort to making it ourselves--adds an orange bitterness to this classic gin drink. Dubonnet Rouge and curacao lend color and orange sweetness.

I could have picked a French vodka and used Cointreau if I wanted to go the full French, but I decided that a rum based orange liqueur like Vitae would work better as a substitute for curacao. Copper Fox Vir Gin is also a nice treat, it's star anise botanical gives it an absinthe-like flavor fit for cafe sipping. I'm glad I came back to this recipe to try it with these ingredients. Take a look at my attempt at this cocktail in 2015. It wasn't bad back then, but this is a surefire improvement on the concept.

• 2 oz. gin (Copper Fox Vir Gin used)
• 1/2 oz white curacao (Vitae orange liqueur used)
• 1 tsp. Dubonnet Rouge
• 1 tsp. Amer Picon (Homemade recipe used)

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass full of ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.