Slope

2 1⁄2 oz Rye (Bulleit or Wild Turkey)
3⁄4 oz Sweet vermouth, Carpano Punt e Mes
1⁄4 oz Apricot liqueur, Rothman and Winter
2 ds Bitters, Angostura
2 Maraschino cherry (as garnish)
Instructions

Stir, strain, straight up, cocktail glass, garnish.

Cocktail summary
Posted by Dan on
Created by
Julie Reiner, Flatiron Lounge, New York, NY
Year
2009
Is an
authentic recipe
Reference

Twitter interaction with the creator

Curator
Not yet rated
Average
3.5 stars
(9 ratings)
YieldsDrink
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From other users
  • Created as a "Manhattan that is not a Manhattan" (and a sort of companion drink to the Gin Blossom). Sadly, just not much different/better than a Manhattan.
  • Other Brooklyn drinks (e.g. Prospect Park) are more to my liking. — ★★★
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Comments

Curated this - because there was some confusion as to the proportions of this drink, I asked Julie Reiner and she sent me a picture of the recipe (which must be from The Craft Cocktail Party). Updated this to the specified brands - she's specific about them, changed 1 dash of Angostura to 2. Thanks,  Zachary

Should this be called "The Slope" rather than just "Slope"? That is the primary way I see it listed, and it refers to a neighborhood, so the emphasis would make sense here. There seem to be a LOT of slight variations of this cocktail including later versions (plural) attributed to Julie Reiner herself. There is a 2017 video by her using Maker's Mark bourbon (rather than rye) and Giffard Apricot--so it doesn't look like formula is set as one might expect. In various recipes on the web the base spirit is listed from 2 to 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 oz, while apricot is from 1/4 to 1/2 and Angostura bitters from 1 to 2 dashes.

I tried two different versions of this tonight based on a slightly different recipe and thought it was quite good (as did the others who sampled what I made.) I used "only" 2 oz of Rittenhouse Rye for both, with 3/4 Punt e Mes, and 1/4 R&W Apricot. This had plenty of peppery rye and alcohol heat which reinforced the bitter components in Punt e Mes. I used a single dash of Angostura for one, and a single dash of Abbott's bitters (my own bottling based on Darcy O'Neil's recipe) for the other.

The Angostura was pretty noticeable at only a dash, and this cocktail is a good candidate for experimenting with different aromatic bitters to appreciate the differences they provide. I somewhat preferred the cardamom/clove/fennel from the Abbott's over the more cinnamon baking spice of the Angostura, but others were evenly split as to preference.