Wednesday, January 15, 2014

dessert l'italienne

1 oz Santa Maria al Monte
1 oz Amaro Braulio
1/2 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Galliano
1/4 oz Espresso Syrup (*)

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass.
(*) Espresso liqueur will sub in a pinch.
For a cocktail at Belly Wine Bar, I requested the Dessert L'Italienne from bartender Ryan Connelly. I assumed, especially from the ingredients list of digestifs, that it was his post-meal answer to the classic Appetizer L'Italienne from William Schmidt's 1891 book The Flowing Bowl. Ryan explained that the Galliano's star anise notes were taking the place of the absinthe's anise in the classic. Interestingly, Ryan's OnTheBar account has an early version of the recipe as:
Dessert L'Italienne (early version)
• 2 oz Santa Maria al Monte
• 1 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
• 2 barspoon Galliano
Stir with ice and strain into a wine glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
When made with the newer, more complex recipe, the Dessert L'Italienne provided a pleasing menthol and camphor herbal aroma that shifted towards a more coffee-driven one over time. The amari's caramel flavors joined that of the espresso's roast notes on the sip, and the swallow was a complex herbal medley that ended with a coffee finish.

3 comments:

Paul said...

Hello ! Do you think the Braulio could be substituted by any of the following:

Amaro Montenegro
Lucano Amaro
Amaro Nonino
Ramazzotti
Averna

Would appreciate your suggestions very much!

frederic said...

None of those are alike but Braulio and the S. Maria Almonte both have similar Alpine herbal, so having one and not both might give a similar result. Perhaps 1 1/2 oz S. Maria Almonte and 1/2 oz Averna or Nonino?

Paul said...

I finally got a hold of a bottle of Braulio and today it was the premiere for Dessert l'italienne and I was really impressed as were my guests with the rich complex herbal range. I haven't tried Braulio on its own, but I guess the menthol comes from the Santa Maria al Monte first-hand. The Galliano was not Autentico but the 60 proof Vanilla type, and I used Borghetti Espresso liquore ( 50 proof ). The drink really was like a dessert but interesting, not too boozy, and both sweet and bitter and there are lots of herbs in between which make you savor the contents of your glass and dream yourself off to the Italian Alps. WOW! ( Wellrounded- Omnipotent- Wonderful )