22 Feb 2023: Creole Cocktail

We always look forward to Friday night’s YouTube posting from Anders Erickson. If you haven’t seen the videos he posts, highly recommend it. A little cocktail history and some great tips and ideas (or as Anders says: “Sips, Tips, and Recipes) for making homebar concoctions excellent can be found on the site.

This week, however, after a long (and dry) period forced upon us by our recent engagement with the Omicron variant, we decided to celebrate on Tuesday, which just happened to be Mardi Gras. The Creole cocktail from Anders was just the ticket to celebrate, not only getting out of COVID jail, but laissez le bon temps rouler.

You can find the version of the Creole Cocktail that Anders shared here. The ingredients are found below (my tweaks necessitated by what’s currently in our bar in parenthesis)

• 1.5 oz Old Overholt Rye Whiskey (I used Rittenhouse)

• 1 oz. Cocchi Vermouth di Torino

• 1/4 oz. Bénédictine DOM

• 1/4 oz Ramazzotti Amaro (I used Amaro Averna b/c that’s what we have)

• 2 dashes Fee Bros Orange Bitters

• Expressed lemon oil

• Lemon peel for garnish

21 Apr 2022: Black Manhattan

My Dad used to enjoy a Manhattan and I recently got to taste one as well. This Manhattan though is just a little different. It uses Averna amaro which has a wonderful vanilla essence and a dash or Orange bitters. Dark and just a little sweet.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces rye whiskey

• 1 ounce Averna amaro

• 1 dash Angostura bitters

• 1 dash orange bitters

• Garnish: brandied cherry

Add the rye, Averna, Angostura and orange bitters to a mixing glass. Add ice, stir until well-chilled, and serve UP (chill that glass ahead of time), garnished with a brandied cherry.