Caroubel

A friend came in for a nightcap after a day of eating and drinking around town. The drink I came up with has the end-of-meal elements without getting too heavy or sticky. It works on a smaller scale too. The ones we drank were half the recipe.



Caroubel

• 2 oz brandy
• 1 oz port
• 3/4 oz nocino
• 1 tsp Laphroaig (approximately)
• 1/2 oz lemon juice (or less)
• scant pinch fine sea salt

Shake with ice cubes and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
ROWEN, FOGGED IN LOUNGE

The port is a natural compliment to the walnut of the nocino, as is the salt. I like to stir my salt in before the ice to make sure it dissolves. The port gives this some acidity to help balance the sugar, so if you try this, you may want to under-pour the lemon a little.

All the Colors Are Changing: Nocino Sour

It’s starting to feel like fall in San Francisco. The afternoon air seems clearer, sharper—the sky a more tender blue. In the spirit of autumn, I reached for the nocino, an elegant walnut liqueur, and then had to admit I couldn’t think of anything to put it in. Nut liqueurs are very tasty but seem like late-night knockout drops. Luckily, I remembered Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s Amaretto Sour, the perfect squirrel potation for any time of day, and substituted the main ingredient.



Nocino Sour

• 1 1/2 oz Nocino della Cristina (Monteverdi)
• 
3/4 oz cask-strength bourbon (Noah’s Mill)

• 1 oz lemon juice

• 1 tsp simple syrup, 2:1
• 1/2 oz egg white, beaten

Dry shake ingredients to combine, then shake well with cracked ice. Strain over fresh ice into an old fashioned. Cherry.
ADAPTED FROM JEFFREY MORGENTHALER’S AMARETTO SOUR

This is what I was looking for. The walnut and bourbon together suggest maple syrup and falling leaves. The lemon balances the sweetness, also kept understated by the bourbon. Interestingly, the Nocino Sour recipes you see around the web call for gin, and I’m game, but the bourbon is so delicious here.