The other day I went to a new (to me) bar in my neighborhood called Ward 8, and I really loved it! First, the food was good. Very important. Additionally, at some bars I have a hard time finding even one cocktail that looks good on the menu, but this place had so many choices I almost couldn’t choose! I ended up going with this one, called Healthy Scratch (I’m trying not to think too much about the name origins), because it is not based on either whisky or gin, which are my usual preferences, and because I already had all the ingredients at home if I wanted to recreate it. It was just what I’d hoped, and here’s my version!

The details:

Jump to recipe

Thought process:

This drink had literally 3 ingredients: Cognac, vermouth, and Campari. All that was left to me was to figure out the proportions and how to combine them. I’d learned from making the Ciao Senza Nome that for a drink that I want to be really clear, I should stir, not shake. For the proportions, most drinks that have vermouth seem to have relatively little compared to the other liquors. I started out with 1 oz Cognac, 1/2 oz vermouth, and 1 oz Campari, but decided the Campari flavor was not strong enough and the vermouth was too strong, so I bumped up the Cognac and Campari to improve the BALANCE. It resulted in a drink on the larger side, but I’m not complaining…

Below, the recipe:

Healthy Scratch
Makes 1 drink

• 1.5 oz Cognac
• 1/2 oz dry vermouth
• 1.5 oz Campari

1. Combine everything in a mixing glass and stir with ice
2. Strain into a chilled coupe glass

Rating:

4/5 stars.
I like this cocktail because it’s simple and tastes kind of like a Negroni, but much more mellow due to the Cognac. And it’s red, which is always a plus.