2 oz Amontillado Sherry
marc rizzuto Spring/summer 2023
0.5 oz Orange Juice
0.25 oz Sesame Orgeat
0.5 oz Brennivin Aquavit
1 tsp Cointreau
0.5 tsp Pernod Absinthe
Method: Whip Shake/Dump
Glassware: Collins
Ice: Pebbles
Garnish: Orange Zest/Caraway Seeds
Every season for R&D I would challenge myself with creating an orange juice cocktail because of the amount we would toss weekly. This was partly because the amount of orange peels we would use would always dramatically outweigh the off-menu orange juice cocktails ordered. Making orange juice a viable ingredient is not as easy as it sounds because orange juice does not always work in cocktails, perfect example is the horribly out of whack Blood & Sand cocktail, yet people still order it. A great use of orange juice is the Garibaldi at Dante, make it the star.
We were receiving a bunch of Absinthe cocktail requests leading up to this menu development, so I thought it would be a good idea to have an Absinthe forward cocktail on the menu that did not leave your mouth numb from anise and fennel. Absinthe does not need to be used in large measurements to be the main flavor of a cocktail. We frequently used it in dash and teaspoon measurements to add depth of flavor to cocktails. I am partial to Absinthe on pebbled ice, so I decided to make an Absinthe cobbler. This ingredient list for the cocktail was starting to worry me a bit. Two ingredients that are not nice to play with, but we were going to make it work. Lets throw in some Aquavit.
Aquavit has its moments in the cocktail making world, but it is still a misunderstood distillate to the masses. This Scandinavian distillate’s main flavor comes from caraway or dill seed. The best way to describe Aquavit for those who are unfamiliar: savory Scandinavian gin. It is not a gin by any means, but for a comparison this one seemed to work best for guests to comprehend. The particular brand of Aquavit I was drawn to was from Iceland. Brennivin is mostly caraway, which grows wild in Iceland, with hints of dill and other savory herbs. At this point I felt like I was going in the direction of an herbal cooler with sweet, slightly acidic orange juice. Before tasting these three together, it seemed like fresh orange juice after brushing your teeth, not sure if this was going to work. There was one ingredient missing that would help tie up all these loose ends, but what was it and how the hell am I going to make these things quaffable. What measurements are best for the Aquavit; is it the base or a modifier. The warmth and brightness of caraway would pair nicely with the cool vegetal fennel and anise from the Absinthe.
When in full R&D mode, I am rifling through recipe books and a couple of great guides to know what works with what. “The Flavor Bible” and “The Flavor Matrix” are great tools to find that missing piece for building a well balanced cocktail. The more commonly known “Bible” utilizes the hard work of human beings research on flavor, where the “Matrix” used IBM Watson to find chemical matches in ingredients. Other types of recipe books I lean on are similar to the cuisine popping up in the neighborhood. At this point in time Korean, Indian and Middle Eastern restaurants were flooding NYC with dishes that had tremendous depth of flavor. I had been hooked on the flavors of Kerala Garam Masala. I had this flavor combination in a shortbread cookie with nuts and orange marmalade (I did revisit this cookie for another orange juice cocktail later on). My thinking was if it worked here, why not with a cocktail. This southern Indian spice blend is similar to its northern more familiar cousin, but it emphasizes star anise and fennel.
One of the tricky things about creating cocktails in a corporate bar is there are certain guidelines that need to be met. In particular, this cocktail was created as a handshake with Pernod Ricard and Remy Cointreau. The idea behind using big brands is they will typically cut a deal for menu placement, thus lowering cost of product because of the volume being used. This allows for the business to have a higher profit margin per cocktail, this particular cocktail was $19 and cost less than $1.50 to make. The products I wanted to use were not these big brands, but hey sometimes you have to “fall in line” and just do the bullshit you are being asked to do. I made the best out of a shit situation and used these subpar ingredients to their fullest. Let me make it clear this is how money is made in bars. Without marking prices up on cocktails, restaurants and bars as we know them would not exists. There are operational costs that are covered by these mark ups: payroll, utilities, marketing, etc. I mention all of this because most of the time the ingredients (distillates, liqueurs, fruits, sugars, garnishes, ice and even glassware) that you need to consider while creating a cocktail are influenced by the overhead of the establishment you are working for. This cocktail is a direct result of capitalism. The Sherry used on menu was Lustau ‘Los Arcos’ Amontillado. This Sherry is delicious, like 99% of Sherry, but the Gutierrez Colosia, used in the Foxglove, is just better in flavor and texture. The recipe above says Amontillado, because after trying a few different representations any Amontillado Sherry will work.
Getting back on track with how cocktail flavor profiles are created. Sherry has a nutty salinity to it that comes from the way it is produced. The flor (layer of yeast) of Sherry is killed off with oxygen thus creating its nutty flavor. Oxidation on things like citrus juice makes them taste metallic and spoiled, not in this situation. Amaretto and orange juice works very well, so I though that Amontillado Sherry with its Marcona almond flavor would be a nice pairing and would help lengthen the boozier Absinthe and Aquavit. After messing around with proportions and a touch of simple syrup the drink needed more texture (fat/sugar) and I wanted that orange flavor to pop. What tastes like orange in spirit form that is not Stoli O, the answer is Cointreau.
We had recently changed our orgeat (from Orgeat Works LTD) from almond to sesame. What we told people who asked why the change to sesame we said it was because almonds use too much water to harvest, or it was because of nut based allergies. I do not think the elimination of almond orgeat will fix any bit of the almond industry. For the allergy lie, sesame is also a serious allergy. Truth is the person making our orgeat decided he wanted to switch to make sesame, fantastic. It produced more of a savory flavor than the almond base we were used to, so it was great for making drinks have that extra savory note.
This drink now had layers of three types of flavors. Savory/sweet herbs (anise, fennel and caraway from the Absinthe/Aquavit combo), juicy fruit (orange juice with an orange boost from Cointreau), and savory nuttiness (Amontillado sherry and sesame orgeat). All that was left to do was figure out a garnish and get the damn thing approved for the menu. When garnishing cocktails less is more. Not all cocktails need a garnish. If it does not add any element of flavor (taste or smell) and it is just for making pictures look nice, avoid it. This time I wanted to amp up the orange and caraway. A little orange zest and caraway seeds sprinkled on top of the crushed ice welcomes your nose for the flavors that are intertwined below in the pebbled ice.
When preparing this cocktail build all ingredients in your tins, add three to five pieces of pebbled ice and whip it until they are dissolved. Pour the cocktail into a collins glass and add more pebbled ice and pack that ice tight. Cap it with an ice dome and then garnish.
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