Let’s get real for a minute – this spring has been a bit of a tease. Having already witnessed scorching hot days, suffered through late season frosts and endured what has felt like an endless series of dreary days, you‘re probably about ready for a good stiff drink. We know we are. But how do you go from sipping on a sunny patio to hunkering down with a warming glass of tipple on the couch? Let Maitre D’ Bekah Powers school you on how they do it at Drink.
Day to day, the weather plays a huge part in what cocktails we get excited about here at Drink. As New Englanders, we’re prepared for May to be 90 and sunny one minute or 40 and pouring the next; and we’re always ready to craft a cocktail to fit the weather!
We love to keep seasonal ingredients on hand. Right now we’ve got rhubarb in house and we’re working on a batch of house-made spring tonic. As the temperature continues to rise, we hope to incorporate other items like fresh herbs. Our Assistant Manager Will Thompson has an unhealthy fascination with highballs on hot days, and quenches his thirst (and that of his guests) with Zucca (a bitter amaro – made from, appropriately, rhubarb), soda, ice and a grapefruit twist.
A few years back, General Manager John Gertsen created a cocktail influenced by the Northern Italian, after-dinner tradition of combining bitter chocolate and Barolo Chinato (a digestivo made from Barolo wine and a combination of rhubarb roots, herbs and spices). In typical Gertsen fashion, he spiced things up a bit and added Mezcal and grated coffee beans to balance out the chocolatey white cacao and bitter sweet Chinato. After much research, Gertsen recently named the cocktail “The Caesar Cardini” (of Caesar salad fame). Inspired by Cardini’s Italian roots and ultimate landing in Mexico, the Mezcal-Chinato connection was made, and the cocktail aptly titled.
The Cesar Cardini
2 oz. Mezcal (we like Del Maguay Vida or Minero)
3/4 oz. Boroli Barolo Chinato
1/4 oz. White Cacao
Stir over ice and strain into a chilled coupe or other favorite cocktail glass. Garnish with grated coffee beans (we use a microplane for this).
Posted: 05/10/2012
Category: Cocktails,
Written By: Rachel Linthwaite, BostonChefs.com
