Tag

aperol

Coastal Sunset Martini

written by Ali

This coastal sunset martini combines several of my favorite cocktail ingredients: gin, grapefruit bitters, and Aperol. I realize that I really enjoy bitter as a flavor profile for my cocktails. This makes Aperol the perfect addition to many a drink.

The inspiration for this week’s cocktail is two-fold. Last week, I had to go to Eugene for a meeting. I knew the weather was going to be much warmer inland than it has been here on the coast. What I didn’t realize was that we were going to be driving into the record-breaking heatwave that plagued much of the I-5 corridor all along the PNW last week. It’s quite a shock to the system to go from a temperate 65 degrees to 100 degrees. The worst part was that I just felt lethargic – it was all I could do to drag myself out of the hotel to find dinner. (Ok, ok – I was enthusiastic enough to go shopping at DSW. After all, shoes).

We ended up at the new Pastini in Eugene. Pastini is a fun Oregon chain that we used to go to sometimes in Portland. They serve mostly pasta dishes. They also make some fun cocktails – I couldn’t resist checking out the Vespa, a combination of gin, Aperol, and grapefruit soda. It was a great anecdote to the miserable heat.

I was so happy to be heading west after my meeting was over. The temperature dropped thirty degrees between Eugene and the coast, and I was finally back in my comfort zone. One of the really awful parts about the heat this past week is that it didn’t help the many wildfires that are currently burning in the PNW. I later found out that Eugene’s air quality was really bad – the heat, the air stagnation and all the wildfire smoke contributed to a nasty mess. I always feel a little guilty enjoying the spectacular sunrises and sunsets that occur this time of year, because I know we are getting them because of all the smoke in the air. I was, frankly, surprised to see one of those sunsets this far west this past weekend.

So, between the Vespa cocktail in Eugene and the glowing orange sunset the other night, I couldn’t resist making my own Aperol and grapefruit martini. And because I really like my cocktails with a bitter kick, I used grapefruit bitters to rinse my glass and cut way back on the grapefruit soda so that it wouldn’t be overly sweet. Feel free to adjust the amount of soda to meet your taste.

Yum

Coastal Sunset Martini

Ingredients

3 drops grapefruit bitters
3 ounces gin
1 ounce Aperol
Grapefruit soda to top

Instructions

Swirl the grapefruit bitters in a chilled martini glass. Add the gin and Aperol and stir. Top with grapefruit soda. Makes 1. Enjoy!

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August 11, 2017 0 comment

Beverages

Grapefruit Negroni

written by Ali

I get inspired quite a bit from eating and drinking while I’m traveling. Case in point – I had a really good Negroni when I was stopped over at the Minneapolis airport last month. It was a super booze-forward drink: I could definitely taste the gin and had to take it very, very slow so as not to be tipsy on my flight. That said, I love the super bitter tones of any drink that has a bitter liqueur in it and Campari is definitely bitter.

I’ve been thinking about that Negroni quite a bit and wondering if I could make a variation with what I have in the liquor cabinet – namely a bottle of Aperol that I used this summer to make Aperol Spritzes but that has been lingering on the shelf ever since. I did a bit of research and found out that it’s not that unusual to substitute Aperol for the Campari in a Negroni so thought I’d give it a try. While I was at it, I also had a grapefruit on hand and since grapefruits are bitter, I thought, why not?

My experiment in mixology paid off – this is a fruity, slightly sweet, slightly bitter drink. It’s simple and straightforward and would probably have had even better grapefruit tones if Clay hadn’t tried to help by juicing the grapefruit and then dropping the cocktail shaker on the floor (yep – it already had the gin, vermouth and Aperol in it. I don’t recommend this step – it leaves the floor a really sticky mess). Fortunately, the grapefruit was only juiced half-way and there was enough to start over and make this cocktail. This is a great watch a classic movie and snuggle under the blankets kind of drink. Happy Friday Happy Hour!

Grapefruit Negroni
Serves 1

1 ounce gin
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1 ounce Aperol
Juice from ½ a grapefruit

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice and shake. Serve in a martini glass. Enjoy!

November 4, 2016 0 comment

Beverages

Aperol Spritz – Friday Happy Hour

written by Ali

As I’ve written about in prior posts, a significant portion of my job is driving around the state of Oregon, going to meetings. Some of these drives are between three and four hours or fall into the rush hours in Portland (from noon to eight or such). I’ve taken to listening to a combination of audiobooks and podcasts to help pass the time. One of my favorite podcasts I recently discovered is Burnt Toast, from the editors of Food52. I’ve enjoyed listening to interviews with both Ruth Reichl and Nigella Lawson. I’ve learned about several cookbooks I really, really need to get and am hoping for a free weekend soon to go to Powell’s (my all-time favorite in the world bookstore in Portland) to get them.

One of the recent podcasts was all about the Italian Spritz. I don’t know how I wandered around Rome for several days nearly nine years ago and missed out on this simple cocktail, but somehow, I did and it took a podcast here in the US to introduce me. I immediately went out and bought Prosecco, Aperol, and soda water and started making these. Aperol is a super-tart aperitif made with bitter orange, gentian, rhubarb and cinchona (along with other unidentified and probably proprietary ingredients). Cinchona is a tropical plant, which has bark that’s been used for medicinal purposes to treat malaria and is an ingredient in quinine. The latter piece of trivia here is interesting to me, as I really like the taste of Aperol – it has the same distinctly tanginess that I enjoy in a gin and tonic, and tonic water has quinine in it – I can definitely see the connection between the flavors.

Enough trivia – here’s the super easy recipe for an Aperol Spritz. My advice for the weekend is to make one or more of these and lie in hammock to read.

Aperol Spritz
Makes 1

Prosecco
Aperol
Soda Water

Fill a wine glass about half-way with Prosecco. Add Aperol until the glass is about three-quarter’s full. Add soda water and ice and enjoy. If you run out of Prosecco, don’t panic – I’ve also made this with white wine. It’s not as fizzy, but just as cool and refreshing on a hot summer evening.

June 17, 2016 0 comment