Vermouth Cassis

A while back, I wanted to make kirs, and so I bought a bottle of Creme de Cassis. Unfortunately, I bought a really cheap bottle, and so it's been a struggle to get rid of it. Flipping though my copy of Schumann looking for a random beverage, I came across the. Not only did it use creme de cassis, but it used a very small amount, so I thought it would be perfect for getting rid of just a bit more of that bottle.

It's a bit bitter, with a nasty aftertaste that I assume is from the cheap creme de cassis. Other than that, it's not bad. The lemon peel is necessary to lighten up the flavor, especially with the substitution of Cocchi Americano for the dry vermouth making it a bit thicker and boozier. I used a relatively small glass, so there was also less soda in here than there might have been. Recipe after the jump.

New York City can fuck off

I swear one of the cocktail blogs I follow (which you can see to the right) mentioned a drink involving Cocchi. I haven't been able to find it. But looking for it, I found an old post from We Love DC talking about a drink they called "Chokin' in Manhattan".

While I still like a well-made Manhattan, it just is not something I find myself ordering at a bar all that often any more. There usually has to be some kind of “hook” to get my attention on a menu – maybe they barrel-aged it or use some interesting house-made ingredients. In the case of Tryst and their Chokin’ in Manhattan, they add one of my favorite liqueurs, Cynar.

Cynar is a bitter Italian liqueur with a variety of botanical flavors, but predominately artichoke. It is bittersweet and vegetal and I am a total sucker for it. In the Chokin’ in Manhattan, it is used as the bitters component, and Cocchi Americano takes the place of sweet vermouth. The resulting drink is less sweet than some Manhattans – due also to replacing the cherry with a wee shrivel of lemon peel – and a pleasant and interesting twist.

Largely because I don't keep a lot of lemon peel around, I don't garnish. Following my ratio theory of cocktail building, I built the cocktail using rye, Cynar, and Cocchi Americano. I renamed the cocktail "Fuck Off New York," since it's a more bitter variation on the Manhattan, and I like the Matson Jones song. It's definitely bitter and vegetal. I'm glad I used the Rittenhouse Rye 100, since you need a really forceful rye to stand up to the bitters, but it really does come together well. Recipe after the jump.

Modern Vesper

The Vesper has a fairly interesting history, even for a cocktail. It's a classic James Bond drink, ordered by him in Casino Royale. It's also impossible to make exactly the way James Bond had it. Why? Because the original recipe calls for Kina Lillet, which is not made anymore. In 1986, Lillet changed the formula, making their aperitif wine sweeter and less bitter. This made it less suitable for the cocktails, like the Vesper and the Corpse Reviver, it had previously been used in. Fortunately, Cocchi Americano is readily available, and has a flavor profile similar to the original. I made this with more Cocchi than vodka, because vodka is boring. It's pretty tasty, though I think I prefer a classic martini. Remember friends, martinis should be stirred not shaken! Recipe after the jump.