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: Italian Fizz

Happy Hour Tuesday!

Today is la festa del papa‘ – Father’s Day- in Italy, as it falls on the same day of Saint Joseph’s Day. In consideration of such great celebration Rometti selected a drink made with ingredients such as Rye whiskey, port and, of course, limoncello: Italian Fizz.

Aged for a minimum of two years in charred, new oak barrels, Rye whiskey is distilled from at least 51% rye (a type of grass similar to barley and wheat). Dry, peppery and with notes of walnut, rye whiskey marries well with Tawny Port, a nutty, woody and dry dessert-wine made with grapes from Portugal fortified in grape neutral spirit aged for 10 years or more in porous wooden casks. The cozy, mellow taste of the two dry ingredients harmonically contrasts with awakening, bittersweet flavor of Rometti Limoncello.

Whether or not you are celebrating paternal bonds today, Italian Fizz is a modern drink to enjoy with your Father any time of the year!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 ounces Rittenhouse Rye
1/2 ounce Taylor-Fladgate 10 year old Tawny Port
3/4 ounces fresh lemon juice
3/4 Rometti Limoncello
the white of one egg (optional)
Club soda
Ice

Combine ingredients but ice and soda in a shaker and shake well. Add ice and shake again for 10 more seconds, then strain into a highball glass with 2 ice cubes. Add chilled club soda and stir gently.

~Enjoy!

Image from http://www.foodrepublic.com, Bryan Quinn

Happy Hour Tuesday: Limoncello Renaissance

Happy Hour Late Tuesday this week…

as Italian, I am very familiar with bitters: if you spent some time in Europe or if you are a passionate in the field, you probably know of Amaro Montenegro, Aperol, Averna, Campari, and a whole bunch of other bitters used for mixers or by themselves as digestifs. Interestingly, bitters were not born as liquor, how they are mainly know nowadays. It appears as the earliest bitters were instead used in the ancient times (back to the Egyptians and all the way through Middle Ages and American colonization) for medical purposes. Apothecaries would often stock bitters to cure, thanks to their herbal infusion, stomach sicknesses, and moreover they were used in mixers of preventive medicinal cocktails with tonic water.

From ancient remedies to difestifs, bitter have become today a synonimus of ammazzacaffe’ (Italian for “coffee killer”: yes because after a festive meal a coffee is not enough to help your stomach processing all the food!) , amaros, or even more commonly, simple liquor.

Among all the different types of bitters I ever tasted and heard of, there is one kind that I have to admit sounds new to me: the Peach Bitter. Introduced by the Bitter Truth, a German spirits company, back in 2006, Peach Bitters are “a contemporary interpretation of a classic style of bitters“. More delicate and fruity than what I am used to, this bitter is perfect for flavoring cocktails of all kinds, from martinis to tonics to gimlets.

So we tried it and found out that its bittersweet taste works perfectly with the zesty, sweet flavor of Limoncello in a cocktail called Renaissance, a mix of Cognac, Vermouth, Limoncello and of course Peach Bitter. It will warm you up on a winter night, but thanks to its delicate notes it will fast forward you to the awakening of Spring.

Ingredients:
8 Parts Cognac
5 Parts Vermouth, Sweet
1 Part Rometti Limoncello
2 Dashes Peach Bitters
1 Peel Lemon

Fill a mixing glass with ice cubes. Add all ingredients. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon.

Enjoy!

Recipe from http://www.absoloutedrinks.com
You can find more information on Peach Bitters at: http://the-bitter-truth.com/bitter/peach-bitters/

Happy Hour Tuesday: Rosemary and Mint Martini

Happy Hour Tuesday!

Another week, another Tuesday. Rometti Limocello is here to light up once again the second day of the week, aka the average day per excellence. In fact while Monday is also known as don’t-wake-me-up-i-do-not-want-to-go-to-work day, Wednesday is hump day, Thursday is pre-weekend day, Friday is TGIF, and of course Saturday and Sunday were invented to have fun with family and friends, Tuesday is that day of the week that no one would like to be stuck on as it does not taste like pretty much anything. So we decided to give it a connotation and make it taste like… Limoncello!

After saying goodbye to Veteran’s Day, this week does not anticipate any other holiday event to look forward to. Perhaps on this average Tuesday you are working at your desk until late. Perhaps you have already closed all your college books and are just about to meet up with friends for a coffee before going out to happy hour. Or perhaps you just picked up your kids from school and are starting to cook a homemade meal for tonight. No matter what your plans are, you can find some time to sit back and relax: Happy Hour Tuesday is bringing you a cocktail that smells like Fall, Rosemary and Mint Martini.

Rosemary and Mint Martini‘s main ingredient is gin, with its particular pine smell that inevitably brings us back to our childhood’s Christmas holidays, while mint and limoncello lift up our spirit like a breath of fresh air. To top if off, a hint of rosemary with its comforting smell gives to this drink that cozy sensation that takes you home, no matter where you are.

Whatever today brings to you, perhaps this average Tuesday you will be finding some time to sit down and enjoy a delicious Rosemary and Mint Martini!

Ingredients:
(Makes 2 Martinis)
1/4 cup Rometti Limoncello
6 oz. gin
splash of Vermouth
ice
2 sprigs of rosemary, for garnish

Combine Rometti Limoncello, gin, Vermouth, and ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake until you can’t shake anymore! Pour equally into two martini glasses. Garnish with the rosemary sprigs.

~Enjoy!

Recipe adaptation and image by Rachael, http://www.tokyoterrace.com

Happy Hour Tuesday: Smokin’ Apple

Happy Hour Tuesday!

After a long break during which Rometti has been working on some exciting projects (don’t worry, we will share with you shortly), we are very happy to be back with out weekly blog!

To welcome the new season, and to embrace the cozy atmosphere that seems to surround us  this time of the year, in preparation for the holidays we chose to come back with a New York cocktail, Smokin’ Apple.
Created by Drew Zechman at Boom, an intimate Italian restaurant in SoHo (unfortunately now closed), Smokin’ Apple combines Macallan Fine Oak whiskey, apple cider, fresh figs, sage leaves and of course, Rometti Limoncello.
There is no doubt that this is not a regular drink, it’s indeed a smooth blend of some of the favorite flavors of the season. The fresh, thick and spicy taste of apple cider seems to go very well with the earthy flavor of the fresh figs, which once they are shaken with ice and the rest of the ingredients contribute to adding a little bit of a bite to this delicious drink. Rometti Limoncello, with its zesty sweet and sour character enhances the properties of both and blends them in a pulpy drink.
Needless to say that the Macallan not only is the main ingredient but it’s also the “smoking” part of this exquisite Fall cocktail topped off with a few leaves of sage!

Every sip of Smokin’ Apple warms you up, and it’s like cuddling up with a cozy blanked by the fireside.

Ingredients:
2 oz Macallan Fine Oak 10 Years Old whiskey
1 oz Rometti Limoncello
1.5 oz hand-pressed apple cider
2 fresh figs
2-3 sage leaves

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain over ice in a martini glass. Garnish with a couple of sage leaves.

~Enjoy!

image from Cosmopolitan.com