Name: Seaport Sling
Total time: PLACEHOLDER
Ingredients: 1½ ounces pineapple juice; 1½ ounces London dry gin; 1 ounce Bénédictine; 1 ounce cherry liqueur; ½ ounce lime juice; ⅛ ounce old-fashioned aromatic bitters; 2 ounces seltzer , chilled; Cocktail cherries

Why This Recipe Works

For our Seaport Sling, we wanted to take this cocktail apart piece by piece. The nonnegotiables were gin and cherry liqueur (such as Heering, different from and not to be confused with maraschino liqueur or kirsch). The honeyed, lightly herbal sweetness of Bénédictine added an intriguing complexity. Grenadine was an easy discard, as its nuance was lost amid the mass of ingredients. Orange liqueur, surprisingly, was not missed either; its citrus oil detracted from the cherry liqueur's singular flavor, lending instead a generic fruit-punch quality. Finally, we investigated some versions without pineapple juice, but we found that we missed its bright, tropical acidity.

Before You Begin

After trawling through countless recipes, we realized we needed cocktail cherries for our Seaport Sling; we prefer our own, but store-bought versions may be used. Drambuie may be substituted for the Bénédictine. Garnish with a pineapple slice in addition to the cherries, if desired.

Instructions

Add pineapple juice, gin, Bénédictine, cherry liqueur, lime juice, and bitters to cocktail shaker, then fill with ice. Shake mixture until just combined and chilled, about 5 seconds. Strain cocktail into chilled collins glass or tiki cup half-filled with ice. Add seltzer and, using bar spoon, gently lift pineapple mixture from bottom of glass to top to combine. Top with additional ice and garnish with cherries. Serve.