Before the spirit of the Olympics fades, I must share this cocktail with you. It introduces an interesting ingredient too: Campari.

Lucien Gaudin

• 1oz gin
• 1/2oz triple sec
• 1/2oz Campari
• 1/2oz dry vermouth
• orange twist

Stir with ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

From: Vintage Spirts and Forgotten Cocktails, Dr. Cocktail

Campari needs an introduction. With no warning, hand an Americano, Negroni, or Lucien Gaudin to an uninitiate of this bitter aperitif, and watch their face pucker. They will undoubtedly escape to another room when they see you unholster the bright red bottle from your cabinet in the future.

Be gentle. Let them know that the drink may seem a bit bitter to them, but that it’s really good once you get used to it. And unlike some flavors, it doesn’t take too much exposure to go from cringing to seeking out every cocktail that contains it.

Flavor

This cocktail is piquant. Dictionary.com tells me that piquant means “an agreeably pungent taste.” They are right on the mark. The orange peel gives the Lucien Gaudin a beautiful fresh introduction, and the vermouth and triple sec really round out the bitterness of the Campari.

Finish

Lucien Gaudin, for whom this cocktail is named, was an amazing fencer for France and won four gold and two silver medals in fencing. In his first Olympic appearance he was wounded by an American but still won the silver. He finally won gold in foil and epee in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, at the age of fourty-two. Find out more about fencing.