Saturday, August 14, 2010

contrabandista

1 oz Pisco
1 oz Dry Vermouth
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Grenadine
1 dash Orange Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

For Thursday Drink Night a little over a week ago on Mixoloseum's chatroom, the theme was "Revamped Classics." The classic I chose to modify was the non-Chartreuse Scofflaw by switching the spirit and citrus from whiskey and lemon to Pisco and lime. In keeping with the smuggling theme of the original Prohibition era cocktail, I named my version the Contrabandista to add a Spanish twist to match the spirit choice. Tequila almost got the nod as the rye or Bourbon substitute; while Tequila would keep with the story line of Prohibition better, I thought Pisco would make for a more unique drink.
The Contrabandista's citrus and grenadine aromas merged well with the Pisco on the sip. The sip started sweet from the grenadine and got more tart on the swallow from the lime coupled with the vermouth. Moreover, the vermouth added a nice degree of complexity on the swallow to round out the drink.

4 comments:

The Pisco Bible said...

I tried this at home - wow - absolutely awesome! I used Macchu Pisco (prefer to stay true to Peruvian Piscos), and while I expected it to mix well with the grenadine, the balance from the vermouth and this particular pisco was fantastic!

frederic said...

Thanks!

We had been using César which was good, but Macchu Pisco is definitely more flavorful and aromatic. It's set the new level for what Pisco should be.

José Alberto Castro said...

Great cocktail! Here's my rendition using home-made grenadine and a lime wheel as garnish. Of course, the credits go to you:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=489615531093980&set=a.253122831409919.68070.246275662094636&type=1&theater

frederic said...

Nice! Your grenadine gives the drink a great color!