Memories of Fall: Apple Brandy and Cardamaro
In almost every mixed drink I have encountered, there is a perishable ingredient, something that is just slightly inconvenient to keep fresh and on hand. If it isn't fresh citrus juice, it is fortified wine, and if it is neither of those, it is some kind of dairy ingredient. Even an old fashioned cocktail, or a Sazerac isn't really complete without a slice of fresh citrus peel. David Embury divided mixed drinks into two broad categories: Sour and Aromatic, the former depending upon sour citrus juice, and the latter depending upon fortified wines and bitters.There are other mixologists with other ideas, but at the end of the day you're pouring sugared and flavored ethanol, and it's not as if all of these categories exist in some discoverable form in nature, the way subatomic particles do. Anyway, fortified wines will live a lot longer in your fridge than fresh lemons will in your fruit bowl, and it is both easy and refreshing to make a drink that contains only spirits.I think many drinkers neglect the aromatic style, either because they mistakenly believe that they dislike vermouth, or because they have never seen how rewarding an aromatic cocktail can be. Technically speaking, only aromatic mixed drinks are cocktails, and only a subset of them, for that matter. Last Thursday I was in the mood for an aromatic drink using apple brandy, and I invoked my favorite 6:3:1 formula for a quick tipple.
Memories Of Fall1.5 oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy.75 oz Cardamaro.25 oz Allspice Liqueur (homemade)dash of angostura bittersStir over ice and strain into a coupe glass. Drink in the Spring time.
This was a warming drink, and it felt like something you would sip on a crisp fall afternoon. I made this drink several weeks ago, when it was still technically spring, so it was deliciously out of season, not because the ingredients were unseasonal, but because the flavors were. The Cardamaro lent a round, herbal flavor to the sip, which was complimented by spiced apple on the swallow.