Friday Cocktail: The Solstice

In honor of tomorrow's Summer solstice, I bring you the Solstice cocktail. Creator John Deragon serves this drink in December for the Winter solstice, which makes sense for a booze forward whiskey cocktail. For those like me that drink brown liquor cocktails year round, however, this drink works just as well once the sun goes down on a 100 degree day in Atlanta. For a spirit forward drink, it is complex but also surprisingly balanced and drinkable. 

The recipe calls for Dubonnet Rouge, but any rose colored apéritif wine, such as Lillet Rouge or Cocchi Americano Rosa, will work well. In my opinion, there is no suitable substitute for the Amaro Nonino. As with any cocktail using grenadine, use a good quality grenadine or make your own to bring out the best in the rye and apple brandy.

Solstice

Adapted from recipe by John Deragon in PDT Cocktail Book

- 1.5 oz. Rittenhouse Bonded Rye

- .5 oz. Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy

- .5 oz. Amaro Nonino

- .5 oz. Dubonnet Rouge (or Cocchi Americano Rosa)

- .25 oz. Grenadine

Combine ingredients in mixing glass with ice.  Stir and strain into chilled cocktail glass. No garnish.

Friday Cocktail: Paper Airplane

I love the Paper Airplane for a lot of reasons. It is a tart and refreshing bourbon cocktail that uses one of my favorite amari called Amaro Nonino.  The Nonino has a silky grappa base (not typical) that is flavored with orange peel and saffron among a host of other flavorings, and aged in French oak for five years (not typical). The recipe is also easy to remember on the fly because it contains equal parts of its four ingredients.

The Paper Airplane is actually an adaptation of the Paper Plane, which uses the more subtle Aperol over the Campari. I like both versions but tend to have Campari on hand more often.

Paper Airplane

(Adapted by Toby Maloney, Violet Hour, Chicago, Illinois)

- 3/4 oz. Bourbon (I used Beam Signature)

- 3/4 oz. Amaro Nonino

- 3/4 oz. Campari

- 3/4 oz. Lemon Juice

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shake and add ice. Shake vigorously for 15 seconds and strain into chilled cocktail glass. No garnish.