A few years back, I bellied up to the bar at Daikaya in D.C. one evening while Lukas B. Smith (now of Dram &Grain and Secret Monkey Social Club) was behind the stick. It was my first time there, and I was suffering from my usual end-of-workday decision fatigue. I’d heard good things about his drinks, so when he asked what I wanted, I just asked him to make me something good.
“What do you usually drink?” he asked.
“Negronis are my go-to,” I told him, which was enough to get him rustling up a delicious concoction with Cynar and rye: a perfect ad-lib.
Later, after we’d shot the breeze and established some rapport, I teased him. “So what would you have made me if I’d said I usually drink chocolatinis?”
Smith slid into a sort-of-amused thousand-yard stare and thought for a long moment, then replied confidently, “I would have made you leave.”
Pity the poor chocolatini, arch-enemy of cocktail and language purists everywhere, beloved of corporate-chain bars where cocktails are sweet, brightly colored and trademarked. Pity the chocolatini, that mix of vodka, chocolate liqueur and half-and-half, and sometimes Irish cream and chocolate syrup. (As a viewing of the films of Alfred Hitchcock, Roman Polanski and Eli Roth will demonstrate, the recipe for effective horror may vary.)
Pity the chocolatini. But don’t pity it enough that you actually, you know, drink one.
I’ve been thinking about the chocolatini. Also, I’ve been thinking about chocolate. I want it to escape the chocolatini cliche. This is an ingredient that was once used to worship the gods! It deserves more mature companionship than the Irish cream and chocolate syrup with which it has been forced, for years, to dance an abominable sugary jig.
I’ve spent hours playing around with chocolate cocktails and a balanced, sophisticated cocktail can indeed be made with them.
If you’re experimenting with chocolate and booze, think about how opposites attract. What you want is not sweet-on-sweet, but sweet-on-something-else, something that complements and complicates the chocolate: a note of herbs or fruit or spice, something bitter or tart or even salty. Try, for example, a touch of smoky Islay Scotch and fernet with chocolate liqueur and a base of rye, bringing out the bittersweet component of the chocolate.
We should be using chocolate in drinks, but in a way that takes it beyond the cloying froth it too often settles at.
Cocoa Smoke
The power trio of chocolate, the grassy smoke of mezcal and ancho chili pepper liqueur makes for a heady, sexy sip.
We like Tempus Fugit’s complex creme de cacao for the chocolate component, but Godiva Chocolate Liqueur will also work. Tempus Fugit Crème de Cacao and Ancho Reyes are available online.
Ice
1 ½ ounces mezcal
½ ounce creme de cacao (see headnote)
½ ounce ancho chili liqueur (see headnote)
3 dashes chocolate bitters or Aztec chocolate bitters
Twist of orange peel, for garnish
Fill a mixing glass with ice, then add the mezcal, creme de cacao, ancho chili liqueur and bitters. Stir for 30 seconds or until the mixture is chilled, then strain into a cocktail (martini) glass.
Twist/express the orange peel over the surface of the drink. Run it around the rim, then drop the peel into the drink.
1 serving. Nutrition per serving: 180 calories, 5 g protein, 8 g carbohydrates, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 mg sodium, 0 g dietary fiber, 4 g sugar
Chocantonic
Chocolate and gin is a pairing that could be quite vile, but here the two are drawn together by Earl Grey tea (which is flavored with bergamot, a citrus fruit) and a splash of orange juice. The combination makes for a surprising and tasty highball.
Tempus Fugit’s creme de cacao or Godiva Chocolate Liqueur will work here. We used Fever Tree tonic.
Tempus Fugit’s creme de cacao is available online.
Ice
1 ounce creme de cacao (see headnote)
1 ounce Old Tom gin
1 ounce brewed, cooled Earl Grey tea
½ ounce fresh orange juice
Tonic water (see headnote)
Fill a highball or Collins glass with ice.
Stir together the creme de cacao, gin, tea and orange juice in a mixing glass. Pour it over the ice, then top with tonic water. Give a gentle stir before serving.
1 serving. Nutrition per serving (using 4 ounces tonic water): 230 calories, 10 g protein, 28 g carbohydrates, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 20 mg sodium, 0 g dietary fiber, 20 g sugar
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