Friday, May 6, 2011

aston martin

1 1/2 oz Dry Sherry (3/4 oz Lustau Dry Amontillado, 3/4 oz Lustau Dry Oloroso)
3/4 oz Dry Gin (Cascade Mountain)
1/2 oz Benedictine

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Two Wednesdays ago, I was reading the May/June issue of Imbibe magazine and spotted the Aston Martin. The drink was created by San Francisco's Nopa bar manager Yanni Kehagiaras, and it drew me in with its aperitif-like style. Yanni based the drink off of the Rolls Royce Cocktail which I have not had, but the basic premise reminded me of the Stephen's Cocktail which we quaffed last year.
The Aston Martin greeted me with a fresh lemon oil scent that balanced the sherry's nutty aroma. The sip was grape from the sherry and somewhat dry, and the sherry notes continued in the swallow as a nuttiness that accompanied the Benedictine's spice. Moreover, the Benedictine lingered on as an aftertaste along with the gin notes. I quite enjoyed how the Benedictine complemented the predominant sherry flavor, and the gin functioned well to add a little backbone to the drink. Overall, the Aston Martin had a rather light feel for it was more than half sherry and could function as either an aperitif or as nightcap when a full strength drink would be too much.

2 comments:

Rowen said...

Another thing to do with Cascade Mountain—stiff stuff. (I like it a lot in the DeGroff/Raffles Singapore Sling.)

frederic said...

Definitely strong (although no Old Raj) and I tend to go with it when I want the extra proof but I want a different botanical profile than Beefeater (94 vs. 95 proof).

I'll have to look up the DeGroff Raffles later to see which one it is. We haven't revisited that drink in years!