Likened on the menu to “a leisurely brunch on the Italian coast,’’ the Palermo Promise at Island Creek Oyster Bar indeed conjures Mediterranean bliss. The gin cocktail is straightforward once you’ve created the Cara Cara orange shrub that makes the mouth pucker with delight. (To make a hearty batch of the shrub, combine 1 cup of juice from Cara Cara oranges, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of apple cider vinegar, and ¼ cup of diced fennel bulb in a saucepan. Simmer for 20 minutes, then strain.) James reed

PALMERO PROMISE

Makes 1 cocktail

1 ounce Tanqueray gin

1 ounce Cara Cara orange shrub

½ ounce Cynar

1 pinch salt

1 dash Regan’s orange bitters

Tonic water

1 slice Cara Cara or blood orange (for garnish)

1. In an ice-filled shaker, combine the gin, shrub, Cynar, salt, and bitters. Give it four or five shakes.

2. Strain into a lowball glass with ice.

3. Top it off with tonic water and garnish with slice of orange.

Adapted from Island Creek Oyster Bar

James Reed can be reached at jreedwrites@gmail.com.