Trident

 

Story

Steven Wright had a bit back in the 80s: “I got up the other day and everything in my apartment had been stolen and replaced with an exact replica.”  This drink is kind of the equivalent of that for the Negroni.  Each ingredient has been swapped out, not for an exact replica, but for a distant cousin.  Aquavit replaces gin, Cynar subs in for the Campari, and sherry takes the place of vermouth.  A couple dashes of bitters to connect everything and you’ve got a harmonious blend that’s both familiar and completely different.  The complex aquavit starts things out both savory and sweet, closely followed by the nutty amontillado sherry.  Then the Cynar shows up and closes out the sip with some welcome herbal bitterness.  Lovely.

Recipe

1 oz aquavit
1 oz Cynar
1 oz dry sherry (amontillado)
1 dash orange bitters
1 dash peach bitters
lemon twist
-measure ingredients into mixing glass with ice.  Stir to chill. Strain into coup or Nick & Nora.
-express lemon twist and discard.

Port Manhattan

 

Story

I’ve got a secret – sometimes I don’t like sweet vermouth.  Don’t get me wrong, it features in a lot of my favorite cocktails. But at times the spirit and the vermouth line up in such a way that it reinforces some flavors that don’t match my palate.  This version of the Manhattan sidesteps that occasional issue by swapping out sweet vermouth for port, which was the first drink I fell in love with.  Port is a fortified wine that’s made in the northern part of Portugal.  It seems that they start making wine the usual way, then at some point they dump in a neutral grape spirit called aguardente (Portuguese for “burning water”).  This stops the fermentation process early, which prevents the natural sugars from being consumed.  It also increases the alcohol content, because they just dumped in a bunch of alcohol.  Port comes in a variety of styles, of which ruby is the most common. 

This cocktail doesn’t have a dozen layers of complexity or spiced syrups or unexpected ingredients, but sometimes being amazing is enough. 

Recipe

2 oz rye (Rittenhouse)
1 oz ruby port (Warre’s Warrior)
3 dashes orange bitters
orange twist
-stir ingredients in a mixing glass with ice to chill. Strain into chilled Nick & Nora or coupe.
-express orange twist and use as a garnish.