I was in Italy recently (and yet still, thanks to the wonders of modern blogging, had posts up. Cause that’s how much I care. A whole lot), which isn’t too much of surprise for those who know me. I used to live there (detailed in detail on the Six Months in Italy blog), and have pals and favorite restaurants to visit when I go, as well as intriguing amaros and liqueurs and wines to track down and artistic sites and vistas to see. All that. This last time, I visited a city in Le Marche called Ascoli Piceno for the first time. It’s an off-the-tourist-track kind of a place by and large, but it has a lovely city center, all made of travertine, and some very lovely churches, and a history of pottery making. All good stuff. But perhaps best of all, it’s where the Meletti company is, a company known for making delicious imbibables. I was introduced to their products by the dashing Spirits Director at Vinum Importing, Andrew Bohrer (who also writes the blog Cask Strength). What I didn’t know, though, until getting to Ascoli Piceno, was how amazing the Meletti Café is.
It sits right on the corner (in the below shot, back right) of the city center I mentioned, which is known as the Piazza del Popolo, and which is one of the prettiest piazza’s I’ve been in:
After visiting it, I think I can say with some authority (considering just how many bars, lounges, watering holes, etc that I’ve been in) that Café Meletti is an awesome bar to spend a few afternoon hours within (in Italy cafés seem like local bars to me, as there is usually as much tipsy drinking as coffee drinking). I’d even go out on a tipsy limb and say one of the world’s best. It has an art deco-y style with remarkable tabletops:
interiors:
and a beautiful bar manned by charming and helpful bartenders:
I ordered a Meletti Anisette, which is the most well-known of the Meletti offerings, and which is the finest anisette available anywhere. It has a layered anise flavor and an underlying sweetness that tastes pure and natural; it’s a liqueur that’s meant to be savored and not shot back, and one that mixes like a champion dancer into cocktails – but which has to be had solo (or with three very small additions) to be completely understood. I got it over a few ice cubes, and was going to have it just like that, until a gracious older Italian gentleman reached over and added three espresso beans for me. These are the “mosche” or flies, and not only add a faint pleasant zing to the flavor, but also represent health, happiness, and prosperity.
All of which I’m for. I took the Meletti Anisette outside to the tables there, and sipped it while watching the people stroll the piazza. It was an experience I’m darn glad to have had, and one I suggest you try, if you get the chance (and if you can’t get to Ascoli Piceno, then pick up a bottle of Meletti and have it on your back porch).
Sometimes, you can’t improve on genius. You can try, sure, but, well, you’ll fail. Which is why instead of writing some new post about the Trocadero, I’m just going to quote myself, from Ginger Bliss and the Violet Fizz:
We think often of dry and sweet vermouth of being like Muhammed Ali and Joe Frazier fighting it relentlessly in Zaire, or like two large dogs gnawing on one big bone in the backyard (the bone here would equal a bar, if you don’t mind following a thinly stretched metaphor). This train of thought though, is out of wack. We should think of the vermouths more like A.J. and Rick Simon, brother detectives who are very different in style, dress, and tone of voice, but working together to solve a crime (the crime here is, as you might guess, the crime of a bad drink).
The Trocadero
Cracked ice
1-1/2 ounce dry vermouth
1-1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
1 dash orange bitters
1/4 ounce grenadine (I suggest making your own – there’s a recipe in the book by the by)
Lemon twist for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add the vermouths at the same time to show no favoritism, and then the bitters and the grenadine. Stir well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the lemon twist.
PS: Sure, I just called my own writing genius. But I was being silly, silly.
The end of March is when you should start really thinking about summer: rum drinks, shorts, bikinis, rum drinks, beaches, rum drinks, and ukulele music. If you just don’t want to wait the extra months you could plane up and fly on down or over or such to an actual beach. Or, you could make this drink from Dark Spirits, which is a tangy tasty tempting treat. It does have one quirky ingredient: hibiscus flower. But knowing how resourceful you are, I’ll bet you can find them. Check your local herborium. But they really add a bunch of goodness to this mix, so track them down (one place that usually has them is Dandelion Botanical: www.dandelionbotanical.com).
Caribbean Bloom, makes 2 (cause being summer-y isn’t nearly as much fun alone)
1 teaspoon dried hibiscus flowers
4 lime wedges
2 teaspoons sugar
Cracked ice
4 ounces dark rum
1. Add the hibiscus flowers, lime wedges, and sugar to a cocktail shaker. Using a muddler or sturdy wooden spoon, muddle well.
2. Fill the cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add the rum. Shake very well, for at least 15 seconds.
As we’re leaving winter in the rear view mirror, it’s become less painful to think about – and easier to consume the brandy-y sipper that’s called the Snow Ball. What’s funny about it, really, is that this drink is a very refreshing bubbly bit of beauty, suited for the springtime (and summer, too, but that’s still a few months away) like flowers, romance, and crackerjacks. Because it has an egg in it, you can also feel good serving this up for breakfast, as long as you use this recipe from Dark Spirits.
Snow Ball
Ice cubes
2 ounces brandy
1 ounce Simple Syrup
1 egg
Chilled ginger ale
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the brandy, simple syrup, and egg. Shake very well.
2. Fill a Collins glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Strain the well-shaken mix over the ice.
3. Top the glass off with ginger ale. Stir, but calmly.
I’ve been drinking up the Scotch and some Scotch cocktails, too, and just wrote about both for the good ol’ Good Life Report. Specifically, the article’s called Auchentoshan Scotch and the Rob Roy cocktail, cause the latter’s what I give a recipe for, and the former what I put in it. Though I talk about more than that, so why not head on over and read the article. You’ll dig it, and can make yourself a Rob Roy for your evening libation. Which you know you deserve.
The newest episode of the Cocktail to Cocktail Hour is here, and this time, we’ve gone international with another Everyday Drinking segment, where I solve the drinking problem of an everyday person. But this time, that everyday person is someone who has come all the way from the United Kingdom! Amazing, isn’t it? A fine British gentleman by the name of Alastair Edwards (really!) is the star of this episode, where I teach him how to make the Sweetie-Pie cocktail from Good Spirits, so he can delight his American gal pal with it. There are also many hijinks, of course, as we wade into the waters of American/British differences and erupting hats – over drinks.
Yesterday (which means, at least for this moment, Valentine’s Day) was the day for hearts, flowers, chocolate, unicorns, and mooning under the moon. Today, well, it’s still the day for all that. But it’s also the day for Stockholm Tar, which, to me, seems almost like it could be the name of a grungy drug gotten by scraping the barnacles off a ship and then boiling them down with a mixture of formaldehyde, corn starch, and Juicy Fruit gum. This drink, however, contains none of that, and while it is strong and all, well, between us, it’s probably closer to the whole flowers and romances mentioned first. So, have one with your favorite sailor and stretch the heart-iest holiday out another day. This recipe’s from Dark Spirits.
Stockholm Tar
Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces dark rum
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 ounce cranberry juice cocktail
1/2 ounce Simple Syrup
1/4 ounce maraschino liqueur
Lime slice for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rum, lime juice, cranberry juice, simple syrup, and maraschino liqueur. Shake well (you want to ensure it doesn’t get a tar-like appearance).
2. Strain the mix into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime slice.
What you do, friends, when you’re up in anyone’s room isn’t any of my business. I like to keep those things under wrap, so to speak. However, if you’re drinking an Up in Mabel’s Room cocktail, which is from Dark Spirits, and which is a dreamy number combining rye, grapefruit juice, and simply syrup, then, well, it’s a bit of my business, cause I want you to be using the below recipe so your life is better. Cause that’s what I want for you. Oh, one more thing (since I’m being so serious). You should know that having a few of these with a certain someone will probably (94.3% probable) have you ending up in a room together, snuggling. Or whatever you kids do. And now you know.
Up in Mabel’s Room
Cracked ice
1-1/2 ounces rye
3/4 ounces fresh grapefruit juice
3/4 ounces simple syrup
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add everything. Shake exceptionally well.
I was in Italy recently (and yet still, thanks to the wonders of modern blogging, had posts up. Cause that’s how much I care. A whole lot), which isn’t too much of surprise for those who know me. I used to live there (detailed in detail on the Six Months in Italy blog), and have pals and favorite restaurants to visit when I go, as well as intriguing amaros and liqueurs and wines to track down and artistic sites and vistas to see. All that. This last time, I visited a city in Le Marche called Ascoli Piceno for the first time. It’s an off-the-tourist-track kind of a place by and large, but it has a lovely city center, all made of travertine, and some very lovely churches, and a history of pottery making. All good stuff. But perhaps best of all, it’s where the Meletti company is, a company known for making delicious imbibables. I was introduced to their products by the dashing Spirits Director at Vinum Importing, Andrew Bohrer (who also writes the blog Cask Strength). What I didn’t know, though, until getting to Ascoli Piceno, was how amazing the Meletti Café is.
