While at Green’s picking up Creme de Violette, I also scored a bottle of apricot brandy. This find allowed me to mix up the Golden Dawn, another drink from Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. The Golden Dawn is a rather strange drink - instead of being composed of a base spirit, liqueur, and a bitter element (e.g. lemon juice or bitters), it includes two different brandies along with Cointreau*, gin and orange juice. The first brandy is Calvados, an eau-de-vie made from apples. Second is apricot brandy**.

The first taste is oranges mixed with apricots. In the middle comes a hint of apple from the Calvados. The aftertaste is ripe with the herbal flavor imparted by botanicals in the gin.

Overall, I found the Golden Dawn too sweet. I also dislike how the Calvados is buried under the other ingredients - this expensive brandy is better used in a drink that allows it to shine, like an Apple Cart. However, the Golden Dawn is by no means a bad concoction and I would serve it to guests who like their cocktails less savory.

notes:

* Don’t even think about using generic triple sec, it will make this drink cloyingly sweet.
** Not apricot flavored brandy. Spend the money on the good stuff, I used Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot. Hint - if the bottle says eau-de-vie, it’s probably the good shit.