A photocopy of a photocopy. A jpeg resaved so often it loses all form. This is what I did to the noble Eeyore’s Requiem.

A friend reminded me of this delicious this bitter drink, and Serious Eats informed me of its noble pedigree: this is a Violet Hour original. (Love the Violet Hour. Love Serious Eats, for that matter.)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKWmVD4A34I/

My friend said he’d held off making this until he found Dolin Blanc, which struck me as slightly odd since he isn’t the type to fear substitutions. Me, I fear few substitutions. And with supplies of Campari and Cynar running low, I thought I’d play with substitutions until I got a drink I no longer loved.

Theory: 5 or more iterations until undrinkability was reached.

Conclusion: a mere 2 iterations.

Caveat: I shamefully own no Fernet but Branca right now. In the future I’d be happy to play with Jelinek, Vallet, or Contratto Fernets, all of which I enjoy thoroughly.

Original Eeyore’s Requiem:

• 1 1/2 ounces Campari
• 1/2 ounce Tanqueray
• 1/4 ounce Cynar
• 1/4 ounce Fernet Branca
• 1 ounce Dolin Blanc
• liberal orange bitters (Fee’s, Regan, or both)

Eeyore’s Requiem variation one: The Tipsy Piglet

• 1 1/2 ounces St. George Bruto
• 1/2 ounce Bombay Sapphire
• 1/4 ounce Cardamaro
• 1/4 ounce Fernet Branca
• 1 ounce Noilly Prat
• liberal orange bitters (Bittercube)

This is good. In place of Cynar, Cardamaro boasts a rich botanical background (including cardoon to echo Cynar’s artichoke). The Bruto, a recent addition to the amaro scene and an incredibly sassy variation on Campari and its ilk, makes sure you know this is a bitter, spirit-forward drink. All in all a success (and one I’d like to experiment with in terms of different gins – could Terroir or Botanist stand up to the Bruto, or is a smoother profile like Sipsmith a finer idea?). But really, not wildly different from the original Eeyore’s Requiem.

Eeyore’s Requiem variation two: Hundred Acre Failure (pictured above)

• 1 1/2 ounces Contratto Aperitif
• 1/2 ounce Beefeater
• 1/4 ounce Amaro Montenegro
• 1/4 ounce Fernet Branca
• 1 ounce Contratto Vermouth Bianco
• liberal orange bitters (Fee Bros)

We killed it with the Hundred Acre Failure, which was like boozy Fanta. Orangey to a fault. Aggressively sweet without proper bitter balance. I love each individual part here but their harmony was not the bold, bitter drink I started with. (And yet I finished the drink.) I can rescue this with a bigger, better bitter but I moved too far toward the sugary end of the spectrum with the Montenegro and Contratto Aperitif.