If there’s one thing I hate about living in the Pacific Northwest, it’s the stretch of time from late October until late June, when the sun makes only the most occasional of appearances. I typically pack on an extra 10-15 pounds during those rainy months, party due to over-consumption of wintertime drinks like dark beer, egg nog, hot-buttered-anything and wassail. I wanted a drink for the winter that I could add to my cocktail menu that was more like the light, café-style cocktails I typically gravitate to during the summer.
Jerry Thomas prescribed a drink called “sangaree” that, to the best of our knowledge was a colonial adaptation of the Spanish “sangria”. The recipe, which calls for anywhere from 1½ to 4 ounces of port, Madeira, gin or brandy dolled up with sugar and dusted with nutmeg in a glass sounded less than exciting to me, but the challenge of updating this old chestnut sounded like a fun January task.
We began with ruby and tawny ports but found both way too sweet. White port got us much closer to our target, but it wasn’t until a healthy dose of dry vermouth was applied that we knew we were on to something. To provide additional depth and hint at the drink’s colonial origins we sweetened with a maple-nutmeg syrup and finished the whole thing off with a teaspoon of allspice liqueur and orange oil.
The Dry Vermouth Sangaree
3 oz dry vermouth
½ oz maple-nutmeg syrup*
1 tsp St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
1 large strip orange peel
Shake everything – yes, even the orange peel – with ice until well-chilled and strain into a cold cocktail glass. Garnish with a fresh strip of orange peel.
*To make maple-nutmeg syrup, combine 8 ounces each of Grade B maple syrup and water, and 1 tbsp freshly-grated nutmeg. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Let cool, strain out solids, bottle and chill.
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Not to be confused with the Spanish wine-and-fruit-based alcoholic beverage sangria, sangrita (meaning "little blood") is a traditional accompaniment to a tequila served completo; a non-alcoholic sipper that cleanses the palate between fiery doses of agave.
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There isn't much I can say about this video that hasn't been said already. If you've read anything I've written about cocktails, you'll understand why this video symbolizes everything wrong with the state of bartending in America today. Watch and learn, but be warned: this one isn't for the feint of heart.
About Me
My name is Jeff Morgenthaler and I'm the head bartender at Clyde Common in Portland, Oregon.
I've been tending bar since 1996 and writing about it since 2004. Mixing drinks has become something of a passion for me in recent years, and I strive to elevate the experience of having a drink from something mundane to something more culinary.
The writing I do here is intended as a work in progress. My recipes are like my opinions: they are constantly being revised and refined as I work them through my mind and my fingers. Comments and participation are encouraged, so please don't feel the need to tread lightly here.
You may or may not have known this, but I like making cocktails out of wine. Or things that were once wine. Or things that were made from wine. However you want to say it, I like making cocktails out of wine. So when I saw that there was a cocktail competition coming up that called for the use of sherry (a type of wine made from white grapes grown around the town of Jerez, Spain and fortified with brandy), I was like, “I’m all over this.”
So I reached for the Morgenthaler Standby Formula book and grabbed this old chestnut. First, I bolstered the sherry with something bitter, put in a touch of something sweet, and finished it with something absinth-y. Then I dumped that one down the sink and tried about ten other combinations. The result is this cocktail, The Solera Club.
I like wine-based cocktails, because they don’t punch you in the face the way, say, a 94-proof gin-based cocktail is going to. This means these drinks are going to be more versatile, and drinkable on more occasions than a big spirit-driven monster. A lot of my customers like to end the night with one of these low-proof sippers, but I take a more European tack myself and delight in them during the late afternoon, noshing on Marcona almonds and watching the sidewalk traffic without getting falling-down drunk.
So in the spirit of early autumnal afternoon sipping and enjoying the sunshine while it still lingers, here’s the recipe:
2 oz sherry (cream for a sweeter, rounder drink, dry sherry such as an amontillado for a more drier, more austere drink)
1 oz Cynar
½ oz creme de peche
1 tsp absinthe
Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. If you’re going the cream sherry route, I’d recommend garnishing with a lemon twist as I’ve done here. If you’re using the drier, nuttier sherries, try using an orange twist.
Comments
14 Responses to “The Solera Club”
18 Sep 2009 at 1:48 pm 1. suzi
that looks right up my alley! too bad we didn’t get to try that one at the cocktail shoot the other day. maybe next time…nice photo, too!
What’s the go to brand for creme de peche? Wanted to play with some ever since Faithful Scotsman at Death Co. This sounds really good, just had a Bamboo at Drop.
Great drink Jeffrey. Just tried it. I got the Cynar at Cask in San Francisco on Third St. Their website is caskstore.com. If you haven’t tried this you really have too! Thanks again.
28 Sep 2009 at 5:54 am 12. Lexi
I don’t normally comment on blogs, but the last two days have been filled with a witchy amount of Cynar and I feel like I have to tell someone about it. I saw a bottle of the stuff for the first time yesterday morning at a small coffee bar in northern Italy. I thought it looked weird. Last night, I was eating dinner with an Italian family and they pulled out a bottle of Cynar with the limoncello. For the past week they’ve only served limoncello. Weird coincidence. Today I decided to do a little research on the stuff. The first place I check is your blog, and bam! a cocktail with Cynar in it at the top of the page. Where is all this going to end? (Somewhere delicious I hope…)
Sounds absolutely delicious. I love mixing wine also. When I took over the bar at the Blacksmith, the last bar manager had ordered 17 cases of rosé so I made a cocktail to move through all of that wine. It was one of the most popular drinks on that list. I also love Cynar, which used to be available for purchase through the OLCC – it’s a shame that they’ve limited their inventory so much this past year. A pleasure to meet you a couple of weeks ago and best of luck to you, although luck might not be needed as the recipe and the name are brilliant.
15 Jan 2010 at 1:45 am 14. butters
finally got around to trying this drink and it was delicious! although I didn’t have the recipe in front of me and guessed on the amount of creme de peche as I basically remembered the other ingredients. I used 1/4 oz mathilde peche liqueur. Another 1/4 oz would have been overkill. Really nice drink!
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18 Sep 2009 at 1:48 pm 1. suzi
that looks right up my alley! too bad we didn’t get to try that one at the cocktail shoot the other day. maybe next time…nice photo, too!
18 Sep 2009 at 2:35 pm 2. Awesomepants Magoo
Now THAT is a classy name for a cocktail…
18 Sep 2009 at 3:05 pm 3. jenny Adams
what? where’s the egg white?! I’m calling nonsense ;)
(in all seriousness … looks and sounds delish)
18 Sep 2009 at 4:48 pm 4. Mata
That sounds nice! Maybe I’ll actually like it? xxx
19 Sep 2009 at 12:19 pm 5. Mark
Sherry competition? With whom? And is it too late to enter? Details if not too late?
20 Sep 2009 at 6:47 am 6. TwoBlindPigs
Great recipe will definitely be giving it a whirl!
20 Sep 2009 at 11:33 am 7. dshenaut
AKA Wine Geek,
No reason to enter this comp any more. This the winner.
d
20 Sep 2009 at 12:04 pm 8. Alan
What’s the go to brand for creme de peche? Wanted to play with some ever since Faithful Scotsman at Death Co. This sounds really good, just had a Bamboo at Drop.
20 Sep 2009 at 9:41 pm 9. Matthew
I can’t find Cynar for love or money around here. Is there an acceptable workaround?
22 Sep 2009 at 10:28 pm 10. Jennifer Colliau
Jeffrey, I love you. Your drink-invention procedure is exactly like mine. Hope you win that trip to Jerez!
23 Sep 2009 at 10:40 pm 11. Tim
Great drink Jeffrey. Just tried it. I got the Cynar at Cask in San Francisco on Third St. Their website is caskstore.com. If you haven’t tried this you really have too! Thanks again.
28 Sep 2009 at 5:54 am 12. Lexi
I don’t normally comment on blogs, but the last two days have been filled with a witchy amount of Cynar and I feel like I have to tell someone about it. I saw a bottle of the stuff for the first time yesterday morning at a small coffee bar in northern Italy. I thought it looked weird. Last night, I was eating dinner with an Italian family and they pulled out a bottle of Cynar with the limoncello. For the past week they’ve only served limoncello. Weird coincidence. Today I decided to do a little research on the stuff. The first place I check is your blog, and bam! a cocktail with Cynar in it at the top of the page. Where is all this going to end? (Somewhere delicious I hope…)
29 Sep 2009 at 2:29 am 13. Columbine Quillen
Sounds absolutely delicious. I love mixing wine also. When I took over the bar at the Blacksmith, the last bar manager had ordered 17 cases of rosé so I made a cocktail to move through all of that wine. It was one of the most popular drinks on that list. I also love Cynar, which used to be available for purchase through the OLCC – it’s a shame that they’ve limited their inventory so much this past year. A pleasure to meet you a couple of weeks ago and best of luck to you, although luck might not be needed as the recipe and the name are brilliant.
15 Jan 2010 at 1:45 am 14. butters
finally got around to trying this drink and it was delicious! although I didn’t have the recipe in front of me and guessed on the amount of creme de peche as I basically remembered the other ingredients. I used 1/4 oz mathilde peche liqueur. Another 1/4 oz would have been overkill. Really nice drink!