Inventor Richard Boccato of Los Angeles’ Bar Clacson named this drink for a title given to high-status Caribbean crime bosses. Somehow, it’s fitting – the Don Gorgon is tough and bracing, with funky flavors from the cachaça and a touch of tropical sunlight from the brown sugar syrup (Demerara syrup, ideally).
Boccato calls for Aperol, and that’s what we stuck with. You’d have to be a real bitter-lover to want to make it with Campari or Gran Classico, but if that’s your jam you’d probably love it.