Happy Friday, and what a needed (long) weekend it is. Mrs. Sharkbait and I decided to post up at FOB Cape Cod for the long weekend, since we each needed a break after the holidays. I was pleasantly surprised when we got here and I opened the liquor cabinet. It has been a little while since we’ve been able to come down here, and I forgot how well stocked the booze cabinet is. Go me!

For this week, I was only bitters and champagne short of making a drink I’ve wanted to try for a couple weeks: The Seelbach Cocktail.  Should be easy to procure right?

Well….about that. I’m convinced Peychaud’s  bitters does not exist anywhere on the Cape. OK, so that might be a slight exaggeration, but after going  0-3 in liquor store stops, I think that might be indicative of a bitters diversity problem down here. However, that didn’t stop me! I grabbed a bottle of cherry bitters since I remember tasting a hint of cherry in the Sazerac I made last week. I decided to add an extra dash or two of angostura to try and make up the missing flavors brought by the Peychaud’s. I’ll list the original recipe here so if you’ve got these on hand, go ahead and make this.

1 oz. Bulleit bourbon

.5 oz. Cointreau

3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled coupe. Top with 2 oz. of Moet Imperial Champagne. Garnish with an orange twist.

So, as you may have noticed, I also swapped some brands here: Four Roses for Bulleit, Nicolas Feuillatte for Moet Imperial, and lastly, curacao for cointreau. These should be acceptable substitutions.

Also, I clearly need coupes down here, as well as cocktail glasses. But, until that day arrives, a rocks glass will have to suffice.

So to start, I get a clear champagne aroma up front, slight hints of citrus from the garnish. Second and third smells, I can detect some of the Angostura bitters, as well as the cherry I added in place of the Peychaud’s

The first thing you notice about the sip is the champagne driven dryness and bubbles, before almost immediately getting hit with a light sweetness from the curacao. While not overpowering per se, it is a bit more pronounced than I think I would like it to be, but that seems like personal preference here, so your mileage may vary.

The dry & sweet flavor profile carries you through the rest of the sip. The champagne leaves a small aftertaste which dissipates after a few seconds. Most of that is due to some leftover bubbles, but the flavor does hang around for a little bit as well.

While I did enjoy my attempt at this one, I think I need to make it again. The Peychaud’s bitters flavor is nigh impossible to substitute to a proper degree, and the Cointreau would provide a different kind of orange liqueur flavor that the curacao is providing here. One to back burner and try again once I’m back home and have access to my bar that currently holds all the necessary ingredients to stir this one up.

(Banner image found here)