Time for a Drink: Contessa
Let's start the weekend right—with a cocktail recipe from Paul Clarke (The Cocktail Chronicles). Need more than one? Hit up the archives. Cheers!
Mojitos and mint juleps are wonderful warm-weather drinks. But sometimes a late-spring or early-summer day requires a drink with a bit of an edge, a spark bright enough to match the waning light of a late sunset.
The Contessa has such an edge, and a flavor that to me is particularly seasonal. Created several years ago by bartenders in Boston, the Contessa is a slight tweak on the classic Negroni, substituting the bright bitter-orange flavor of the Italian aperitivo Aperol for the deeper, more assertive bitterness of the garnet Campari.
With a pleasantly bitter bite and the color of a sunset, Aperol makes the Contessa an excellent aperitif—or simply a refreshing cooler for an early summer weekend. The recipe, after the jump.
Contessa
Ingredients
1 ounce gin (Beefeater is recommended)
1 ounce Aperol
1 ounce sweet vermouth (Cinzano is recommended)
Procedure
The Contessa is comfortable in two variations: for the first, simply combine the ingredients in a mixing glass and fill with ice; stir well for 20 seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. For the second variation, stir with ice as above and strain into a rocks or old fashioned glass filled with fresh ice. Either way, be sure to twist a piece of orange peel over the drink and use as garnish.
About the author: Paul Clarke blogs about cocktails at The Cocktail Chronicles and writes regularly on spirits and cocktails for Imbibe magazine. He lives in Seattle, where he works as a writer and magazine editor.
View other entries from Cocktail Concoctions.
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1 Comment:
I haven't tried aperol - I'm going to look for it at the liquor store and give this a try.
Recently I've been mixing up caipirinha's for my outdoor parties:
http://danamccauley.wordpress.com/2009/05/27/caipirinha-the-perfect-summertime-cocktail
DanaMcCauley at 9:53PM on 05/29/09