A new love

Amongst drinks, that is.   I have recently been introduced to a cocktail called the Black Feather.   It's a sour - but it rings a number of changes on the usual format for such drinks.  It uses brandy rather than whiskey.  It reduces the sweetness to a vestige.  And it ramps up the alcohol intensity by using dry vermouth rather than lemon juice or lime juice as the souring agent.   So... we have a generous double measure of a tasty Spanish brandy called Torres, a hefty slug of dry vermouth, a dribble of Cointreau (for the orangey aroma rather than the sugar) and a couple of drops of Angostura bitters. Finished off with a spray of lemon oil from a vigorously twisted piece of rind.  Those diverse flavours blend together beautifully.   It is, for me, just about the perfect drink.