May 6, 2022
Last week I went on and on about brunching and brunch season and brunch drinks and then put down the recipe for a new brunch drink Good Morning Sunshine, and all of that and you know what? Not one of you invited me to brunch. Well, my dog Ainsley did, but she’d eat all the time if it was up to her, hahaha! So, just for that, here’s another brunch drink, one from an old (but still bubbly, if I may be so bold) book of mine called, simply enough, Champagne Cocktails, said drink being called The Pensiero (which is Italian for “thought” making this drink “The Thought” which is just so deeply silly), and as you’d expect one influenced by Italy and featuring delicious Italian stalwarts Punt e’ Mes vermouth and Campari, as well as fancy frizzante ruby-esque red wine Brachetto d’Acqui (a brunch treat if ever there was one). Now, I’m just gonna sit here and wait for my invitations.

The Pensiero, from Champagne Cocktails
Ice cubes
1 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
3/4 ounces Punt e Mes
1/2 ounce Campari
1/2 ounce Simple Syrup
Chilled Brachetto d’Acqui
Lemon twist, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the orange juice, Punt e Mes, Campari, and simple syrup. Shake thoughtfully.
2. Strain the mixture through a fine strainer into a flute glass. Top with Brachetto d’Acqui. Garnish with the lemon twist.
Tags: Brachetto d’Acqui., brunch drinks, Campari, Champagne Cocktails, Champagne Cocktails: 50 Cork-Popping Concoctions and Scintillating Sparklers, cocktail, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, Punt e' Mes, The Pensiero, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Champagne & Sparkling Wine, Cocktail Recipes, Italy, Recipes, vermouth, What I'm Drinking
December 30, 2016
Bubbly cocktails are good all the year round. This is an incontrovertible fact. However, if you wanted to make the point that bubbly cocktails are even finer this time of the year, because of the elegant effervescence they bring to the season, well, I wouldn’t argue. Which is why today I’m sipping this Italian-inspired sparkler from Champagne Cocktails. Because I don’t like arguing. No, no, it’s because it’s a darn tasty drink, a bubbly number that’s a little different, intriguing, yummy-licious.

The Pensiero, from Champagne Cocktails
Ice cubes
1 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
3/4 ounces Punt e’ Mes
1/2 ounce Campari
1/2 ounce simple syrup
Chilled Brachetto d’Acqui
Lemon twist, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the orange juice, Punt e Mes, Campari, and simple syrup. Shake thoughtfully.
2. Strain the mixture into a flute glass. Top with Brachetto d’Acqui. Garnish with the lemon twist.
Tags: Brachetto d’Acqui., Campari, Champagne Cocktail, Champagne Cocktails: 50 Cork-Popping Concoctions and Scintillating Sparklers, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, orange juice, Punt e' Mes, The Pensiero, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Champagne & Sparkling Wine, Cocktail Recipes, Italy, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
August 29, 2014
Hello late August! You might think in late August, where, for let’s say at least 85.4% of the readers of this blog, it’s pretty hot, that I wouldn’t dare suggest making a drink that means “thought.” But I will dare (as the song says), cause really, you don’t have to think too much about this drink when making it, and because it is rather refreshing and, if I may dare say, yummy. Just be sure your Brachetto d’Acqui (the slightly sweet Italian frizzante wine) is well chilled, or drop an ice cube into the glass. It is August, after all.

The Pensiero, from Champagne Cocktails
Ice cubes
1 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
3/4 ounces Punt e Mes
1/2 ounce Campari
1/2 ounce Simple Syrup
Chilled Brachetto d’Acqui
Lemon twist, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the orange juice, Punt e Mes, Campari, and simple syrup. Shake thoughtfully.
2. Strain the mixture through a fine strainer into a flute glass. Top with Brachetto d’Acqui. Garnish with the lemon twist.
Tags: Brachetto d’Acqui., Campari, Champagne, Champagne Cocktails, Champagne Cocktails: 50 Cork-Popping Concoctions and Scintillating Sparklers, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Friday Night Cocktail, Punt e' Mes, sparkling wine, The Pensiero, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Campari, Champagne & Sparkling Wine, Cocktail Recipes, Italy, Recipes, What I'm Drinking