[latest buzz]

3/4 oz Grappa di Moscato
3/4 oz Cristinalda Brandymel Honey Liqueur
3/4 oz Vergano Americano Chinato
3/4 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and double strain into a wine glass.

Two Mondays ago, Andrea and I ventured over to Brookline Village to eat dinner at Pomodoro. For a drink, I was eyeing the house Margarita and bartender Stephen Shellenberger asked if I wanted something in a similar style but with funkier ingredients. The most intriguing one he used was a Portuguese honey liqueur flavored with herbs. For the liqueur's base spirit, a moonshine brandy from the arbutus (sometimes called the medronho or strawberry tree) fruit is made by the local farmers. The farmers either trade the spirit for the use of the land or sell it to the liqueur maker directly. With a grappa as a spirit, a chinato for complexity, and lime juice for crispness, the drink took form as a curious Daisy. The honey liqueur played an integral roll in the drink and it first appeared in the aroma along with some floral notes. The lime, grape, and honey flavors filled the sip, and the swallow offered up more robust grape notes with the Brandymel's honey funkiness.