straits of messina

a) 3 Green Cardamom Pods
1 pinch Salt
2 dash Regan's Bitters
b) 1 1/2 oz Cocchi Americano
3/4 oz Blood Orange Juice

Muddle ingredients in (a). Add ingredients in (b) and ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail or wine glass. Top with ~2 oz of Dibon Cava.
For my second cocktail at Island Creek Oyster Bar, I requested the Straits of Messina from bartender Vikram Hegde. The Straits of Messina is the narrow passage between Sicily and southern Italy; with the classic blood orange, the Moro, originating from Sicily, I suspect that naming fell into place that way. Once prepared, the cardamom aroma pleasantly greeted me as I prepared for the crisp wine and Cocchi's citrus flavors on the sip. The swallow then offered up blood orange notes with a lightly lingering cardamom flavor. Vik commented that this drink made him realize how much cardamom was in Cocchi Americano since he is usually overwhelmed and distracted by the quinine aspect of it.