Cocktail recipe
Bitter Giuseppe
An artichoke-bitter aperitivo softened by vermouth, sharpened by lemon.
Ingredients
- 60 ml (2 oz) Cynar-style artichoke amaro
- 30 ml (1 oz) rich sweet red vermouth
- 7.5 ml (¼ oz) fresh lemon juice
- 6 dashes orange bitters
- Garnish: lemon twist
Preparation
Stir amaro, vermouth, lemon and all six dashes of orange bitters over ice until the mixture turns sleek and cold. Strain over a large cube; express lemon oil across the surface and set the peel alongside. Stirring despite the lemon is deliberate.
Glassware
Rocks glass, one large cube
History
Stephen Cole created the Bitter Giuseppe at Chicago’s Violet Hour in the late 2000s. An account published from Cole’s own recollections describes making a Cynar Manhattan for an Italian chef friend, then repeatedly correcting the sweetness with a substantial ¼ oz of lemon and six orange-bitters dashes. Sources disagree slightly on whether to date the drink to 2007 or around 2009; the creator and venue are firmly documented. The name alludes to an Italian friend or guest, though the precise identity is not uniformly reported.
Mixology View
The six dashes are the secret architecture, not decoration. Our recipe preserves Cole’s signature balance, including the unusual choice to stir a drink with lemon juice.