June 8, 2018

What I’m Drinking: The Mint Meridian

Recently, I was on a trip – the actual physical kind, mind you – that took me away from my home bar and home region, and led me, let’s just say, to a different state, and while there I was really craving Brancamenta, and couldn’t find any anywhere. Anywhere! What kind of place or region or locale or spot doesn’t have this Fernet Branca sibling, which adds Piedmontese peppermint oil and a little sweetness to the legendary bitter-and-herb digestif?

Well, I was missing the minty mint-ness indeed by the time I got back, especially as we’re heading into summer and Brancamenta is a summertime hit of special proportions, especially with soda, and even moreso when mingled with dark rum (another summer fav) and a few other choice choices in the below drink. Try it and see! And if you have to travel anywhere that might not have Brancamenta, even just maybe might not have it, take your bottle with you. You don’t want to run into the situation I did, believe me you.

mint-meridian
The Mint Meridian

Ice cubes
2 ounces dark rum
3/4 ounces Brancamenta
1/4 freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Chilled club soda
Mint sprig, for garnish

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway up with ice cubes. Add the rum, Brancamenta, lemon juice, and bitters. Shake well.

2. Fill a highball or closely comparable glass up with ice cubes. Strain the mix from Step 1 into the glass through a fine strainer.

3. Top with 3 ounces club soda. Stir. Garnish with the mint spring. Enjoy your afternoon.

June 20, 2014

What I’m Drinking: The Mint Meridian

Welcome back Brancamenta lovers! Wait, you say you don’t know what I’m talking about? Well, then go read my first post about the Brancamenta Mint Challenge (#brancamenta) and The Better Days cocktail. Neat, right? Remember in that post I said I made a second drink? Well, the Mint Meridian is that very drink.

But first, I realized I didn’t say much about Brancamenta in that earlier post, and maybe some folks still don’t know about it – which is a crying shame. It’s made from the same herb-and-spice set up as its older sibling, Fernet Branca, with the addition of Piedmontese peppermint oil. It’s super minty, a bit less of a digestif than Fernet Branca, and fantastic (I think) with soda over ice and in drinks. And it was inspired by opera singer Maria Callas. Neat, again, right? For my second ‘menta (I sometimes shorten it suchly) drink I wanted to hit the refreshing route more heavily, to help y’all out with summer. But I still wanted to get creative with it – hence building on another summer favorite, rum. Really!

mint-meridian

The Mint Meridian

Ice cubes
2 ounces dark rum
3/4 ounces Brancamenta
1/4 freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Chilled club soda
Mint sprig, for garnish

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway up with ice cubes. Add the rum, Brancamenta, lemon juice, and bitters. Shake well.

2. Fill a highball or closely comparable glass up with ice cubes. Strain the mix from Step 1 into the glass.

3. Top with 3 ounces club soda. Stir. Garnish with the mint spring. Enjoy your afternoon.

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