Tuesday, January 8, 2013

expatriot

1 1/2 oz Cutty Sark Blended Scotch
3/4 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
3/4 oz Nocino Walnut Liqueur
1 dash Fee's Black Walnut Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

On Christmas Eve, we headed over to Punjabi Dhaba to have our traditional December 24th Indian food before Trina's Starlite Lounge opened at 9pm. Another good reason to get food there was that Trina's was only opening the bar and not the kitchen that night. We and others were indeed glad that co-owner Jay Bellao had volunteered to unlock the doors and step behind the bar.
trina's starlite lounge somerville
For a drink, I asked Jay for the Expatriot which was a walnutty variation of a Rob Roy or Bobby Burns that reminded me a little of Brick & Mortar's Sentimental Gentleman. The Expatriot differed from the Sentimental Gentleman from the start for its aroma had the richness from Carpano Antica besides the walnut liqueur. The sip was filled with grape, a hint of malt, and a dark note from the walnut. Finally, the Scotch began the swallow that ended with the walnut's tannic bitterness.