Comments on: The Beauty Beneath

By: erik_flannestad

erik_flannestad — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:20:11 +0000

Psst…

Use the Vergano Americano in cocktails which call for Dubonnet Rouge.

Rocks!

By: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Jeffrey Morgenthaler — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:00:10 +0000

Thanks, Jeff. I’m glad you’re enjoying the drink.

By: Jeff Frane

Jeff Frane — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:31:31 +0000

Just finished another one of these, made with the Methusalem and the whiskey-barrel aged bitters. Now I must find something to keep myself busy with so I won’t make another.

This is a beautiful and delicious cocktail, Jeffrey. And I think I’m finally starting to get rum.

By: niels

niels — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:29:58 +0000

wonderful cocktail! don’t have the americano, but have tried it twice with substitutes: schiavenza’s barolo chinato, which is simply immense, can’t recommend it enough - and in a lighter version that worked almost as well, with the st räphael rouge. used the bitter truth jerry thomas decanter bitter for the 2nd one to match the räphael better.

in mho the lillet rouge wont do in this drink - its far to ‘wine-ish’, too little ‘quinine-ish’. the dubonnet rouge wont do either, its too sweet, although frankly i dont know the american version which is supposed to be different from our european, i believe they produce in kentucky?

finally, from a newcommer, thnx for a great site!! always an inspiration here in copenhagen.

By: Jeff Frane

Jeff Frane — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 01:20:26 +0000

Years ago, after being accused of being “beersnobs” a bunch of beersnobs came up with an ironic system of defining quality, absent all the effete nuances. We started with S and G (I’ll let y’all fill in the blanks) and then determined that a little more nuance was needed. So we added F, as in “that’s F G!”

The Americano is fascinating stuff, and Erik’s NotANegroni definitely is FG.

By: Jeff Frane

Jeff Frane — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:03:26 +0000

As per usual, paying any attention at all to Morgenthaler ends up costing me money. Pastaworks, here in Portland, is the best bet for finding anything Italian in a bottle, and sure enough they had the Americano. Ouch. $40 is a lot, but they had a smaller bottle (500 ml?) of a different product from the same vintner and it was $50, so I guess I got a bargain.

I don’t have the right rum in the house, so I’ll try Erik’s take on the Negroni to start with.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:26:51 +0000

Just got back from Germany, and China Martini is widely available. Too bad they can’t get some distribution in the US for that product since they already have such a big presence here with their sweet and dry vermouths.

-Mike

By: erik_ellestad

erik_ellestad — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 20:08:53 +0000

Since that is Mr. White commenting above, I guess that is good news for me finding Vergano products in California!

Excellent!

Though, where the heck do you find the Krogstad Aquavit down here?

By: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Jeffrey Morgenthaler — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 19:06:40 +0000

Erik - You have a blog??

Just kidding.

By: erik_flannestad

erik_flannestad — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:29:12 +0000

Uh, dudes, you really should read my blog and maybe eGullet…

NYC in February

I’ve been pretty pleased with the Vergano Americano in recipes which call for Hercules.

By: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Jeffrey Morgenthaler — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:32:26 +0000

All - I’ve found that the Americano doesn’t oxidize too quickly if corked and stored in a refrigerator.

Garretto - See this post for more info about maraschino. Cherry liqueurs won’t taste the same as liqueur made from Maraska cherries.

Neyah - Great recipe, I’m going to try this when I get to work tonight. And I am glad I could beat you to the punch at least once!

By: NW

NW — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:21:23 +0000

DAMMIT! I thought I would be the first to get going with this bottle. Well, here is the Digestif I am rolling out this week.

The Foil:
1 oz. Krogstad Aquivit
1 oz. Vergano Americano Chinato

Stir gently over ice and strain.

By: Garretto

Garretto — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:55:18 +0000

Wow, that really looks good!
Hey, Jeff, I’m new to the website and love it, trying to catch up on the archived recipes and articles.
I have a question regarding Maraschino liqueurs —- I’m trying to stock my home bar –I want to purchase a cherry liqueur to try an Aviation cocktail, however the ticket on the Luxardo and Maska are a bit steep. Is a less expensive Cherry liqueur such as Kijafa, going to really compromise the drink? My guess is yes, but I’ve spent a fortune in this stocking venture and looking for something to hole me over in the Cherry dept.
Thanks.

By: erik_flannestad

erik_flannestad — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:51:45 +0000

By the way, the recipe above based on an old recipe called the “Cota Cocktail”, not really an original. The original recipe calls for a defunct aromatized wine product called “Hercules” and I was experimenting with substituting barolo chinato for the Hercules. Tasty, if not entirely accurate.

Yeah, Barolo Chinato probably has about the same life after opening as sweet vermouth. Though, it’s so tasty, I have a hard time keeping it around long enough for it to go off.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:44:22 +0000

erik,

thanks for the recipe, I will definitely be trying that.

I figured it wasn’t a literal match-up with vermouth, but it’s interesting that it compares more to campari, especially since I love campari.

I assume still that it will have approximately the same shelf life that vermouth has after opening though. Is this correct, or can I open without fear of decreasing quality?

By: erik_flannestad

erik_flannestad — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:21:57 +0000

FYI, Matthew…

Cocchi Barolo Chinato is a wonderful digestiv and an interesting mixer. Supposedly it is a fantastic accompaniment to dark chocolate.

However, it has very little to do with Sweet Vermouth.

First, it is made on a red wine base and Sweet Vermouth is made on a white wine base.

Second, the primary bittering agent is quinine, instead of the wormwood used in vermouth.

Third, it is a lot more bitter than any sweet vermouth, including Punt e Mes.

It is closer to a red wine based version of Campari. Well, not quite that bitter, but close.

Lovely stuff. Just don’t expect a Manhattan made with it to taste anything like a Manhattan made with Vermouth.

If you like negronis: 3/4 oz barolo chinato, 3/4 oz Cointreau, and 1 1/2 oz London Dry Gin is quite lovely.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:24:13 +0000

I have a Cocchi Barolo Chinato that I have yet to open, as I assume this stuff last about as long as vermouth, so I’m waiting until my current bottle of Carpano runs out. But I’ve heard very good things about it, and I’ll definitely use this recipe as a jumping off point, so thanks!

Have you tried it in place of vermouth in any more conventional recipes, or perhaps in place of punt e mes?

By: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Jeffrey Morgenthaler — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:34:30 +0000

RL - It’s worth a look online if you can get it shipped.

Marleigh - Think of it as vermouth with a kick. Don’t get rid of that Antica Formula any time soon.

By: Marleigh

Marleigh — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:34:21 +0000

I still have very serious feelings for my bottle of Carpano Antica, but I’ll have to keep my eyes open for this one…

By: RL

RL — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:57:23 +0000

Brilliant colour. That barrel-aged bitters is nice too - I like the cinnamon-y aroma of it. Doubt there’s any chinati floating about New Zealand though.

By: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Jeffrey Morgenthaler — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:39:05 +0000

Chris - I would recommend using an aged pisco if you’re going to try this. And remember that if it doesn’t have an age statement on the label, the color of the liquid in the bottle is usually a pretty good indicator.

Erik - I don’t know if they’re trying to widen their distribution, I’ll ask the rep the next time I see her. And I agree, Lillet and Dubonnet do seem pretty pedestrian after a sampling of chinati.

By: erik_flannestad

erik_flannestad — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:27:51 +0000

Yum!

I really like Chinati! Fantastic label on the Vergano, too. Someone was recently telling me they also make a very tasty white chinato which might make a pretty good Kina Lillet substitute.

Are they trying to widen their distribution? I picked up a bottle at LeNell’s about half a year ago, but have yet to see it in California. It would be great not to have to ship it from the East Coast after I run out.

I have to admit, after trying a couple of the Italian Americanos, Lillet and Dubonnet seem pretty pedestrian.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:19:02 +0000

This sounds pretty fantastic, I’m going to have to find some of this stuff.

Just wondering, how do you think a Pisco would do in place of/alongside the rum in this?

Cheers!