Happy Hour Tuesday: Amerouge

Happy Hour Tuedsay!

Italy marries Brazil in this week’s cocktail called Amerouge, which features among its ingredients Campari bitter -which at this point we all know what it is, right?- and Cachaça, a distilled spirit made from sugarcane. Cachaça originated in Portugal where it was made up until the 16th century when its production moved to Brazil. Similar to rum, cachaça can be unaged or aged, and today it’s most known in countries outside of Brazil as one of the main ingredients for Caipirinha.
Sweet, smoky, with hints of fruit and spices, cachaça is the yang to the Campari yin: together they balance each other in a bittersweet symphony of smooth, citrusy blend.

Orange juice, mango and a splash of Rometti limoncello contribute to make Amerouge the perfect, exotic aperitif that couldn’t open up our Spring 2014 Happy Hour Tuesday series in any fresher way. Consume preferably ice cold and in company of some good friends.

Ingredients:
1 1⁄2 oz Cachaça
1 oz Campari
1 1⁄2 oz Orange Juice
1 1⁄2 oz Mango Juice
1/2 oz Rometti Limoncello
1/2 Fresh Lemon Juice
3 oz Tonic Water

Mix juices, Rometti Limoncello and cachaça in a shaker with some ice cubes. Shake well until chilled and pour over a glass with some crushed ice. Add Campari, stir gently. Fill up with Tonic Water and add a slice of orange to garnish.

~Enjoy!

Happy Hour Tuesday: Limoncello Negroni

Happy Hour Tuesday!

Back in 1919 Count Camillo Negroni asked Caffe’ Casoni (now Caffe’ Cavalli)’s bartender, Fosco Scarselli, to prepare him a cocktail similar to the Americano but with more gin than soda water. They didn’t know right away that in the bar in Florence would have become the birthplace of a popular drink called Negroni, in honor of the homonymous Count. Almost a century later, here we are introducing a variation of the cocktail called Limoncello Negroni.
The traditional Negroni, still very popular in Italy, is an aperitif made with gin, vermouth rosso and bitter, usually Campari. Vermouth and dry wine are often common ingredients of aperitifs as they are served before a meal in order to stimulate one’s appetite.
The addition of Rometti Limoncello to the traditional ingredients for Negroni subdues the bitterness of Campari, while it increases the sweetness of vermouth and smoothens its taste. Also, limoncello combined with the sharp flavor of gin increases the refreshing taste yet it adds warmth to every sip.
Ordered straight up in a Martini glass, Limoncello Negroni is the perfect fancy drink to savor till the last drop before a tasty, Italian style dinner.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1 1/2 oz Campari
1 1/2 oz gin
1/2 oz Rometti Limoncello
Orance slice or twist for garnish

Pour vermouth, Campari, gin and Rometti Limoncello in a mixer half filled with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a Martini glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

~Enjoy!

Happy Hour Tuesday: Dry Lemon

Happy Hour Tuesday is back, after a couple of weeks in Italy!
While there, we experienced the joy of dining with friends and family, and what other digestif would have been the perfect way of ending our Italian Summer nights but limoncello?

This week we would like to enlighten you with a cocktail recipe that we savored just recently, Dry Lemon.
Other than Campari and Rometti Limoncello, which you should all now be familiar with, we introduce Angostura, which is a concentrated bitter made of water, alcohol, gentian root and vegetable extracts. Although a German Surgeon General came up with the recipe, Angostura takes its name after a town in Venezuela where the ingredients were easily available. Believed to have restorative properties, Angostura seems to be great to cure hiccups and upset stomach!
In addition to Angostura, Dry Lemon uses also the British Tanqueray Gin (from Charles Tanqueray, its first distiller), a London dry gin made of double distilled grain.

Dry Lemon is a dry, refreshing cocktail which will both quench your thirst and satisfy your tasting buds!

Ingredients:

1/4 Rometti Limoncello

1/4 Campari bitter

a few drops of Angostura

2/4 Tanqueray Gin

1 Lemon wedge

Add Rometti Limoncello, Campari, a few drops of Angostura and Tanqueray gin into a cocktail shaker filled with some ice cubes. Shake well and pour into a glass. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

ENJOY!~
Recipe courtesy of DBRicette.