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: Maiden’s Blush

Happy Hour Tuesday!

Among the list of drinks with a name of uncertain origins, make sure to add Maiden’s Blush, a fruitily savory cocktail that must have a deeper story behind its name than the color from a blushing maid!

1930 Savoy Cocktail Book features two recipes for Maiden’s Blush, one with absinthe and one without, as the absinthe probably overwhelmed the rest of the ingredients.  The cocktail had been revised by another book, the Cafe’ Royal Cocktail Book, where Maiden’s Blush appears to have absinthe once again but in less quantity (1/8 vs 1/3). Also we find raspberry syrup and powdered sugar in this recipe, instead of grenative and orange curacao. The most interesting story is the one that features Maiden’s Blush to be Toulouse-Lautrec’s favorite drink, also made with absinthe, plus mandarin, bitters, red wine and cognac.

For this week’s recipe we decided to keep it low key considering all the partying and celebration from las week, so we would like to present you with the Maiden’s Blush recipe from the Savoy book from 1930 with our own Limoncello twist of course.

Ingredients:

2 dashs Rometti Limoncello
4 dashes Orange Curacao
4 dashes Grenadine
1 glass Dry Gin

Fill a cocktail shaker halfway with crushed ice. Add the ingredients, cover the shaker and shake for 10-15 seconds.
Strain the mix into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a twist of orange peel or lemon and serve ice cold.

~Enjoy!

Image from 12BottleBar.com