Since my surname is Bartlett, I am naturally fond of pears. I concocted a pearish cocktail for our 40th anniversary:
16 parts pomegranate juice
8 parts Tanqueray
3 parts homemade grenadine
2 parts Amaro Nonino
2 parts Bartlett pear brandy
2 parts fresh lemon juice
Yes, there is more pomegranate than pear in the mix. I was instructed that 40 is the ruby anniversary (something I had not previously known), so I was aiming for that color.
So this hit perfect as it’s cold and rainy in the DMV and I thought I might be putting my black walnut bitters away for spring. But I did not have any pear liqueur and am under a liquor buying blockade (spouse) so I took a shot and did 1/4 oz of Grand Marnier as a sub - pretty darn tasty. I like having the bones (or Legos) to experiment
Oh yeah! I haven't tried that, exactly, but I can just taste it in my head. Grand Marnier would work great here -- orange-y, but a little bit darker in character. That sounds great.
So I tried this one tonight, was so intrigued by the ratios. Good drink, bit obviously very vermouth forward which isn't my fav.
In googling my nonino q, I came upon this recipe. Honestly, I was thinking a split base of rye/brandy, but I suppose the brandy/nonino would be a bit redundant.
From reddit:
I really like the Fallback by Sasha Petraske:
1 oz. rye whiskey, 1 oz. apple brandy (preferably Laird's Bonded), 1/2 oz. Nonino, 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth, 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters Stir, strain, serve up garnished with an orange twist.
This one is delicious. The peychaud's/orange twist kinda surprised me, but great accents to the flavors.
OMG Peter I made this as soon as I saw the email and it was SO GOOD! Absolutely worthy of the name! I had to make it with Mathilde and you’re going to bankrupt me now because I feel like I have to go buy the St George to be authentic—I love their NOLA Coffee stuff.
Glad you liked it! And thank you for the name. I've had this one in my recipe book for a year or two, mostly in this form, and the names I'd been using for it were stupid ideas like "Grin and Pear It."
After months, or maybe years, of dealing with you singing the praises of New Jersey based Lairds Apple Brandy and having a hell of a time of finding it in Northern California, I appreciate the spotlight of Oakland’s St George Spiced Pear Liquor. It’s like when you hear a band you’ve followed for a couple of years on the radio for the first time.
I love this post so much. Also a Lego kid. And your fruited Manhattan newsletter last week prompted me to experiment with adding Wigle Whiskey's Saffron Amaro to the basic Manhattan formula. Not sure I've quite got the right proportions yet, but subbing 1/4 oz. of the amaro for the bitters, and garnishing with an orange peel, is pretty damn good. Will try doing a split-based rye & brandy next.
While I wouldn’t say I’m a fanatic, I did accidentally buy that bottle of spiced pear liqueur so have managed to collect 3 bottles of pear spirits (a brandy and a non-spiced liqueur)
Since my surname is Bartlett, I am naturally fond of pears. I concocted a pearish cocktail for our 40th anniversary:
16 parts pomegranate juice
8 parts Tanqueray
3 parts homemade grenadine
2 parts Amaro Nonino
2 parts Bartlett pear brandy
2 parts fresh lemon juice
Yes, there is more pomegranate than pear in the mix. I was instructed that 40 is the ruby anniversary (something I had not previously known), so I was aiming for that color.
And it worked.
Nice! (I always have to look up the anniversary materials too.)
So this hit perfect as it’s cold and rainy in the DMV and I thought I might be putting my black walnut bitters away for spring. But I did not have any pear liqueur and am under a liquor buying blockade (spouse) so I took a shot and did 1/4 oz of Grand Marnier as a sub - pretty darn tasty. I like having the bones (or Legos) to experiment
Oh yeah! I haven't tried that, exactly, but I can just taste it in my head. Grand Marnier would work great here -- orange-y, but a little bit darker in character. That sounds great.
With some tweaks, this is apparently a drink from employees only, so you're in good company (or so says squirrel farts)
https://www.squirrelfarts.com/2012/12/02/rule-37-employees-only-manhattan/
Was not aware of this one! Thanks for this pointer. I've only been to EO once, but my favorite mezcal Margarita recipe comes from there. Good bar!
This also looks kinda-sorta similar to the main drink in tomorrow's newsletter.
So I tried this one tonight, was so intrigued by the ratios. Good drink, bit obviously very vermouth forward which isn't my fav.
In googling my nonino q, I came upon this recipe. Honestly, I was thinking a split base of rye/brandy, but I suppose the brandy/nonino would be a bit redundant.
From reddit:
I really like the Fallback by Sasha Petraske:
1 oz. rye whiskey, 1 oz. apple brandy (preferably Laird's Bonded), 1/2 oz. Nonino, 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth, 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters Stir, strain, serve up garnished with an orange twist.
This one is delicious. The peychaud's/orange twist kinda surprised me, but great accents to the flavors.
I made a Pear Clafouti inspired Sidecar riff using the spiced pear over the winter.
Daisy’s Parasol
1.5 oz St. George Pear Brandy
1oz Lemon Juice
0.5oz St George Spiced Pear
0.5oz Giffard Vanilla de Madagascar
Love to see the pear people come out of the woodwork...
I appreciate that this cocktail leverages three bottles I possess but don’t have a lot of recipes for!
I live to serve.
OMG Peter I made this as soon as I saw the email and it was SO GOOD! Absolutely worthy of the name! I had to make it with Mathilde and you’re going to bankrupt me now because I feel like I have to go buy the St George to be authentic—I love their NOLA Coffee stuff.
Glad you liked it! And thank you for the name. I've had this one in my recipe book for a year or two, mostly in this form, and the names I'd been using for it were stupid ideas like "Grin and Pear It."
Also I was a space lego kid in the ‘80s too😂
Of course, of course. I suspected as much.
After months, or maybe years, of dealing with you singing the praises of New Jersey based Lairds Apple Brandy and having a hell of a time of finding it in Northern California, I appreciate the spotlight of Oakland’s St George Spiced Pear Liquor. It’s like when you hear a band you’ve followed for a couple of years on the radio for the first time.
Ha! I always appreciate the easygoing east/west coast rivalries in cocktails.
I'm a big fan of St. George's gins, too, and I've been seeing them in more and more cocktails on bar menus...
I love this post so much. Also a Lego kid. And your fruited Manhattan newsletter last week prompted me to experiment with adding Wigle Whiskey's Saffron Amaro to the basic Manhattan formula. Not sure I've quite got the right proportions yet, but subbing 1/4 oz. of the amaro for the bitters, and garnishing with an orange peel, is pretty damn good. Will try doing a split-based rye & brandy next.
Saint George's Pear Brandy (non-spiced version) is one of the finest brandies I've ever had. Also, pear cider? Divine.
As a Bama fan, I need to know where you got the elephant pick.
Amazon multipack!
https://amzn.to/3VJGhIo
While I wouldn’t say I’m a fanatic, I did accidentally buy that bottle of spiced pear liqueur so have managed to collect 3 bottles of pear spirits (a brandy and a non-spiced liqueur)