1 oz Cynar
4 oz San Pellegrino Limonata
lemon wedge
Build in a collins glass. Add ice and garnish with a lemon wedge.
Limonata is cheaper and easier to find than lemon tonic water, and just as refreshing. It’s a bit sweeter though.
2 oz cereal milk
6 oz coffee
Froth hot cereal milk in a mug, then add hot coffee.
When I started drinking this hot, it tasted like a nice mug of milk and coffee, but I couldn’t taste the cereal milk unless I spooned froth off the top. However, when it cooled down a bit, the Corn Flakes came though. It’s also a nice proportion of fat, as this cereal milk is 1 part cream, 4 parts milk. In the future, I’d save the cereal for drinking in mixed drinks with alcohol that enhances the flavor—such as American Honey, Mellow Corn, or maybe even Biscotti liqueur—as I think coffee mutes the flavor too much.
1 oz Cynar
1/2 6.8 oz bottle Fever Tree Sicilian Lemon Tonic Water
lemon wedge
Build in a collins glass. Add ice and garnish with a lemon wedge.
Bitter and refreshing! I’d read about mixing Cynar with lemon soda. I have yet to pick up some San Pellegrino Limonata but had the tonic water on hand. At 16% ABV, the Cynar makes this the equivalent of 1/4 of a glass of red wine—an easy drink to have before dinner! It looks like iced tea.
Credit: Brad Thomas Parsons, Amaro
1/4 cup Talenti Coffee Chocolate Chip gelato
1/4 cup Talenti Salted Caramel gelato
3/4 oz Amaro Averna
1 tsp malted milk powder
whipped cream
caramel drizzle and cherry garnish
Blend the gelato, Averna, and milk powder. Squeeze a thin layer of whipped cream on top, then add a caramel drizzle and cherry.
So, not to put the entire meaning of life in a drink, but wow, this drink is GOOD. I didn’t do the caramel drizzle (even though I did have homemade caramel sauce), because, sugar, but I did add a Bordeaux cherry, a bit less sweet than a Luxardo. The Talenti coffee gelato is on the bitter side, which pairs so well with the caramel. I try to make as small a portion as possible—the recipe calls for about 3 times this much—then I split it with my husband. This way, I can have these more frequently. In theory.
Credit: Brad Thomas Parsons, Amaro
1/2 cup Talenti Mint Chocolate Chip gelato
3/4 oz Branca Menta
whipped cream
chocolate shavings and fresh mint garnish
Blend the gelato and Branca Menta together and pour into a glass. Squeeze a thin layer of whipped cream on top, then add chocolate shavings and a mint sprig.
Mint chocolate chip ice cream was always my favorite as a kid—along with peppermint stick, which for whatever reason is much easier to find on the East coast. So this drink might be my favorite dessert drink. The Branca Menta adds a bitter edge to cut the sweetness of the gelato, without making it boozy. I shared this with my husband but next time I’m doubling the amount all for myself.
Credit: Brad Thomas Parsons, Amaro
1 part Branca Menta
1 part Meletti Cioccolato liqueur
Build in a glass over ice.
Just like a fancy Thin Mint.
Credit: Brad Thomas Parsons, Amaro
1 1/2 oz Amaro Ramazzotti
3 oz A&W Root Beer
1/2 cup Talenti Madagascan Vanilla Bean gelato
Build in a chilled collins glass. Serve with a straw and spoon.
A sophisticated root beer float. I bought Ramazzotti after I did the amari tastings, but I’d probably put it toward the top of easy to sip on its own, as it definitely has root beer notes along with citrus and spice. I’d be curious to try other root beers.
★ Original Cocktail ★
3/4 oz Wild Turkey American Honey Liqueur
1/4 oz Mellow Corn Whiskey
3 oz cereal milk
grated nutmeg for garnish
Stir ingredients and pour over a large ice cube. Grate nutmeg over the top.
This is fantastic, but took some trial and error. I first tried a recipe with bourbon, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract, which made the drink too boozy and interfered with the sweet, toasted flavor of the milk. Then I found another recipe with bourbon, corn whiskey, and Bärenjäger honey liqueur. Using what I had on hand—and adhering to my preference for less boozy drinks—I first tried mixing just the milk with American Honey liqueur. I could taste the cereal milk, but almost no booze. Just 1/4 oz of that Mellow Corn 100-proof Bottled in Bond corn whiskey does the trick!
Credit: Branca Distillery
1 oz Branca Menta
1/2 tsp brown sugar
juice from 1/2 a lime
several mint leaves
4 oz Fever Tree Indian Tonic Water
Muddle mint leaves with the brown sugar, lime juice, and Branca Menta. Add tonic water and ice.
So refreshing and easy to drink! Easily a favorite before or after dinner.
Credit: Brad Thomas Parsons, Amaro, citing Pam Wiznitzer
1 1/2 oz Campari
3 oz Sunkist orange soda
1 small scoop Talenti Madagascan Vanilla Bean gelato
Build in a chilled collins glass. Serve with a straw and spoon.
Wow, this is pretty awesome. I like how the drink gets sweeter as you sip on it. Without ice cream I’d keep the Campari at 1 oz but the extra 1/2 oz works here. And of course, it’s gorgeous to look at.
Credit: Modernist Pantry, Foodlyn
2 oz Maker’s Mark Bourbon
1 oz Dolin Vermouth Rouge
1/2 oz maple syrup
2-3 dashes Angostura bitters
1/16 tsp monosodium glutamate (MSG)
2 sprays Alice & the Magician Autumn Bonfire cocktail aromatic mist
Luxardo cherry garnish
Stir bourbon, sweet vermouth, maple syrup, bitters, and MSG with ice. Strain and pour into a chilled coupe glass. Add cherry and spray with the aromatic mist.
This was rather smooth considering the alcohol content! The aromatic spray is spot on. I like sweeter drinks so I went heavier on the maple syrup; some recipes call for 1/4 oz. I’d be curious to try it with and without the MSG to compare.
Credit: Difford’s Guide
1 oz Tempus Fugit Creme de Cacao
1 oz Tempus Fugit Creme de Menthe Glaciale
1 1/2 oz whole milk
1/2 oz heavy cream
Shake and strain into a chilled coupe glass.
I used Simon Difford’s recipe for lightening up this drink from the traditional equal parts creme de menthe, creme de cacao, and heavy cream—above is the equivalent of 1 oz each half and half and whole milk. However, when you upgrade to Tempus Fugit spirits, the old-school grasshopper becomes something much more refined. First you taste pure, fresh mint, creaminess, then sweet chocolate. It’s the cocktail version of a Junior Mint.
Credit: Brad Thomas Parsons, Amaro
1 espresso
1/2 oz Amaro CioCiaro
Add amaro to espresso and enjoy.
This was such a happy moment. We had dinner with friends, who fortunately have an espresso machine. I’ve never been a huge fan of espresso as it’s too bitter—I typically have coffee with soy milk. I only added 1/2 oz of amaro since I don’t like drinks too boozy—however Brad Thomas Parson’s Amaro recommends equal parts espresso and amaro.
I can’t think of a more perfect pairing! Looking forward to trying amaro in coffee.
Amaro Averna (29% ABV)
Amaro CioCiaro (30% ABV)
Cynar (16.5% ABV)
Amaro Montenegro (23% ABV)
Amaro Nonino Quintessentia (35% ABV)
My husband and I did a blind tasting of all these amari by placing stickers on the bottom of mini glasses, and putting about 2 teaspoons of each one over a mini ice cube. It was fun removing any potential biases and just tasting each one!
The amari fell into a spectrum of ones we could sip, and ones that would do better in concert with other ingredients in a cocktail. Really, only the Cynar was a bit vegetal to sip on its own, but can’t wait to try it in a cocktail. So, in that order:
Amaro CioCiaro
Amaro Montenegro
Amaro Nonino Quintessentia
Amaro Averna
Cynar
Credit: Brad Thomas Parsons, Amaro, citing Damon Boelte
1 part Fernet Branca
1 part Branca Menta
Build in a glass with an ice sphere.
Two events brought on this drink: time to peruse the beautiful, informative Amaro, and fries animal-style from In-N-Out. This is my first time drinking any fernet, and starting out with 50% Fernet Branca isn’t for sissies! I took a sip and thought, ugh, what is this? Then needed another sip. Then thought, ugh, what is this? Then needed another sip. And this cycle repeated until I was sad I’d finished gingerly sipping my meager 1 oz of the mixture.
It really does settle the stomach.
1 oz spiced rum
4 oz Fever Tree Ginger Beer
lime wedge
Build over ice.
Wow, this drink lets that spiced rum shine! I used less lime than I did in the Dark and Stormy since the ginger beer is less sweet, and I wanted to play up the spices in the rum.
Credit: Shannon Mustipher, Tiki, citing Nathan Hazard
1 1/2 oz blended aged rum (I used Appleton Estate Extra 12)
1/4 oz Mr Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur
1/4 oz Giffard Banane du Bresil
1 1/2 oz pineapple juice
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz macadamia orgeat
dash of Angostura Bitters
Luxardo cherry garnish
Shake and strain over crushed ice.
Alas, I wanted this drink to be sweeter. I also couldn’t really taste the banana or the orgeat. My husband liked it though…he said he liked “its darkness.” Oh well, back to Mr. Bali Hais for me!
Credit: Martin Cate, Smuggler’s Cove
750 ml rum (I used Plantation Original Dark rum)
4 inches of a vanilla bean, pod and scraped seeds
2 1/2 x 1 1/2-inch strip of orange peel, with as much white pith removed as possible
3 allspice berries
4-inch cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
5 whole peppercorns
1/2-inch piece of ginger, sliced
demerara syrup, optional
Put everything into a mason jar and let sit for 3 days, stirring once a day. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, then a coffee filter. Add 1 ounce of demerara syrup if needed, depending on your base rum.
There’s no comparison—making your own spiced rum is the way to go. The Plantation Original Dark was plenty sweet enough without adding any demerara syrup. This rum is so good I can sip it straight, which says something as I don’t like super-strong drinks. I can’t wait to try this in a hot toddy or eggnog!
1 oz Becherovka liqueur
3 oz Fever Tree Indian Tonic Water
lemon wedge
Fill collins glass with ice. Add Becherovka and tonic water, then stir. Squeeze lemon into glass and use spent wedge as a garnish.
Lighter and refreshing! The lemon adds a nice balance.
Credit: Leandro DiMonriva, The Educated Barfly
1 1/2 oz St. George Botanivore Gin
3/4 oz Giffard Crème de Pêche de Vigne
3/4 oz orgeat
3/4 oz lemon juice
4 drops Angostura Bitters
mint garnish
Shake and strain over crushed ice.
The quality of the peach liqueur makes a big difference here. Alas I committed a sin and served this over small ice cubes rather than crushed or pebble ice, because I was low on pebble ice. However, it was great just the same. Slapping the mint against your hand to release the oils makes the mint super-fragrant. A potent one for me! Easy to sip quickly. Curious to try this with cardamom bitters.
