Ah, let’s get to it. The French 75: the third most well-known Champagne cocktail after the Mimosa and the Bellini. But to me, it far surpasses those other drinks, in part because it’s fortified with some harder stuff. Whether that hard stuff should be gin or cognac is a matter of debate. It’s a classic …
Cognac
The Vieux Carré is what it would look like if the Manhattan had an eccentric, worldly, New Orleanian great aunt. It’s rich and spirit forward with a split base of rye and cognac. Like the Manhattan it also gets rounded out with sweet vermouth. But unlike her straight-laced nephew, the Vieux Carré has an unruly …
Maraschino cherries, or at least the artificially bright red super sweet cherries that are plunked into Manhattans and nestled atop ice cream sundaes, are polarizing. They’re pretty, but their flavor is, at best, boring. Even as a kid, I tended to leave them uneaten. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Better versions of …
It’s been too long since I’ve shared a cocktail recipe around here. This one, with Cynar (pronounced chee-nar), Cognac, and Punt e Mes, is a keeper. In recent months, Dan and I have been spending lots of time with the herbaceous, bitter, primarily-Italian amaro section of our liquor cabinet. (And if you’re interested in learning …