She names it after Dante Argento’s 1977 horror film.? Don’t ask me why.

oooOOOOOooooOOO

The Suspiria
2 ounces grain alcohol
.5 ounces Campari
.5 ounces Fernet Branca
.5 ounces Ramazzoti amaro
Shake over ice, strain into a cocktail glass with a long lemon twist

It might be scary sometimes but it drinks smart!? Yummy.

[Twenty-fifth in a series of drinks named after bloggers, mixologists, and random others who'll hopefully be at Tales. The first post in the series is here.]

Welcome to the first Mixology Monday of 2009!? This MxMo is quite interesting. As I sit here in front of my computer to write this post, the theme of this MxMo causes a good deal of retrospective thought and contemplation of the year to come.? The theme for this MxMo is “New Horizons” and is hosted by The Scribe over at A Mixed Dram.? Our instructions were to use something new in our cocktailian pursuits; a new ingredient, a new technique, anything as long as it broadens our horizons.? So how does this theme cause me to get a little philosophical?

For starters, I have to look through my repertoire of drinks and find something that I haven’t used before.? As a consequence, I’ve looked upon this entire last year and the changes it has brought, especially in the cocktail scene of Washington, DC and the surrounding suburbs.? It has caused me to look at the Scofflaw’s Den and the growth that we’ve had here with the site in the fifteen short months Sean and I have been writing.? I’ve also been thinking about the year to come.? It is easy to get caught up in looking towards the future.? You see, as I write this from the Scofflaw’s Den outpost of the Ballston neighborhood of Arlington, VA, I am a stones throw from history.? I can’t help but think of the momentous events that will transpire in a little over 12 hours – when the 44th President of the United States will be sworn into office.? A new President whose call for change was heard around the world.? Being this close to history and having a topic for MxMo that fits perfectly . . . well, I can’t help but be a little excited.

On to the matter at hand . . . As I tried to think of how I wanted to expand my horizons, I only had to go so far as my liquor cabinets to find the answer.? There is one ingredient I have never used.? One ingredient that has overwhelmed me every time I thought of using it – sherry.

Many of the top bartenders in DC and around the world are using sherry in many fantastic drinks.? I’ve had quite a number of sherry cocktails and have enjoyed every single one of them.? But using it myself has been a little daunting.? For starters, there is like twelve different kinds of sherry.? See . . .

Okay, so there are six different styles, but that was still pretty daunting for me.? So I bought one bottle that I thought was in most of the cocktails I have tried.

I bought Osbourne Amontillado Sherry.? I know it probably isn’t the best, but it is what the grocery store had low those many months ago when I decided to buy it.? I know Ace Beverage has many different kinds of sherry and I’ll probably try another style next.? But anyway, on the the cocktails!

The first cocktail I made was named after what is considered the first Broadway musical, Adonis.? Adonis opened in 1884 and ran for over 600 performances.? The recipe is very similar to a martini, with sherry replacing the gin.

Adonis
2oz Sherry
1oz Sweet Vermouth (I used Vya)
2 dashes orange bitters (I used Angostura)

Stir everything with cracked ice and strain in a chilled cocktail glass.

This was simply a beautiful cocktail.? I was amazed at how the orange bitters shown through all the aromatics of both the sherry and the Vya sweet vermouth.? It was moderately sweet and herby with a very clean flavor and finish.? It was wonderful.

My next cocktail of the night, I gleaned from the eGullet Spirit and Cocktail forums.? One of the threads discusses port and sherry in cocktails and someone posts a recipe called the Dewey D from PDT in New York.

Dewey D (PDT, NYC)
2oz Rye
.75oz Sherry
.50oz Aperol
1 dash Angostura

Stir everything with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

This cocktail was a bit of disappointment.? First, to be completely upfront, I used Ri1 whiskey.? Maybe that wasn’t the best choice for rye that I could of used, however, looking at the relatively small amount of Aperol and sherry, I didn’t want something that was too powerful.? I’ll also say that maybe this particular drink needs a different style of sherry than the amontillado I used.? WIth those caveats, this drink basically tasted like watered down rye.? The sherry and Aperol were completely lost in the drink.? Unfortunate, but I still have hopes that with some adjusting on my end, this could really sing.

The next cocktail I tried was the Chaplin Cocktail.

Chaplin Cocktail
.75oz bourbon
.75oz sherry
.75oz Ramazzotti Amaro
.125oz Cointreau
2 dashes orange bitters

Stir everything with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

This was another cocktail that sang.? The Ramazzotti, Cointreau and orange bitters gave the bourbon and sherry a wonderful bitter orange note.? It was sweetened by the sherry and Cointreau just enough to tame the bitterness from the amaro.? And the caramel sweetness of the bourbon just threaded throughout the drink.? Very tasty indeed!

Well, there you have it.? My first foray into sherry as a cocktail ingredient – a change that is positive and hopefully.? Much like the history being played out before our very eyes in the days to come.? I can understand why sherry has been in the repertoire of many and I’m looking forward to trying different styles and finding the one that will work best for my palate and recipes.? Many thanks to The Scribe for hosting this MxMo – a fitting subject for a fitting time.

Cheers!

The gallery for all the photos for this MxMo can be found here.