A Bourbon Cordial

 

Years ago I was gifted a bottle of Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey. At the time, Skrewball was all the rage, picking up where Fireball had left off ushering in a new wave of flavored whiskey mania into American whiskey culture. Unfortunately I was not entirely a fan when I first opened my bottle and sampled a wee dram. On the positive side, the smell from the glass was instantly recognizable as roasted peanuts. In fact, the smell happily reminded me of the old scratch & sniff stickers I used to fervently collect in my 1980s youth. Things took a turn for the worse however when I took a sip and the cordial's sweetness overwhelmed my senses; Skewball was simply too sweet to my preferences. I ended up only trying a handful of pours all those years ago and stashed the bottle away, out of sight, out of mind... That is until a recent clean out and survey of the archives uncovered this long-forgotten bottle. 

 

Determined to find a use rather than pour this bottle down the drain, I tinkered and stumbled into a rather simple solution that produces a rather tasty beverage - dilute the sweetness of Skrewball with actual whiskey! While still sweet and best used as a dessert or end-of-evening night cap, Skrewball actually plays quite nicely with bourbon. I'd recommend trying 1 part Skrewball to 2 parts bourbon whiskey. If the resulting mixture is still too sweet, then add an additional part of bourbon. Stay squirrelly my friends.

 

Obligatory

Yesterday, Today and Amaro

 

I think it is fitting to break the 18 months of dust between posts to resume where I left off, a cocktail that is an Amaro riff of a Manhattan. While Descent into Averna was a reverse engineered recreation of a libation I enjoyed at Bern's Steakhouse, today's libation is a recipe I stumbled across while perusing the Interwebz recently.

 

Ingredients

• 2.0 ounces Rye Whiskey, preferably a 50% ABV (or higher) variant
• 0.5 ounces Cynar
• 0.25 ounces Benedictine
• 0.25 ounces Amaro (Averna used here) 
• Lemon peel for oil spritz and garnish 

Composition

Place the rye whiskey, Cynar, Benedictine, and amaro in a mixing vessel of some sort, add plenty of ice, and stir until well chilled (approximately 30 seconds for me). Strain into a preferred glass (coupes or stemware work well here).

 

Squeeze the lemon peel over the top of the drink and plop the peel into your drink or discard depending on your personal preference. 

 

Commentary

This recipe was categorized as both strong and bitter by the folks at Punch, correct on both counts to my tastes though the bitterness is the enjoyable kind, not the painful kind. The lemon oil from the garnish dominates the smell wafting from the glass, upon tasting however, the lemon takes a back seat. The first wave of taste is quintessential rye whiskey, charred oak and pepper spice. This is quickly followed by the unmistakable herbal sweetness of Benedictine. Interestingly, as the sip fades, the charred oak of the rye whiskey reappears, but the final ovation of the sip belongs to the Cynar with its slightly herbal bitterness. 

 

This, to my tastes, is a thoroughly delicious cocktail. It is exactly what I want from any Manhattan variant, it is bold, it is boozy, it is moody and complex. It is the type of libation that forces you to sit back, take small sips, and contemplate the complexities of life. It is a cocktail that is as bold and vibrant when freshly poured and cold as it is in its final room temperature sips. Bravo Mr. Brad Kane of Philadelphia, very nicely done.

 

More to come, and all the best. Cheers!