This is the menu I offered at the spirited dinner at Bacco at this year‘s Tales of the Cocktail. I added a rationale for my pairings at the end of this menu.

Bacco Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Dinner Menu 2010

Fresh Pitted Sweet Cherries for muddle and garnish

Peychaud’s Bitters

Homemade Bitter Lemon Cordial

Club Soda

12 oz Zombie Glass

KOLD DRAFT Ice

2 oz LEBLON CACHAÇA

.5 oz MATHILDE Pear Liqueur

.5 oz Perfect Puree Pear Puree

.5 oz Spiced Syrup*

.5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

Cracked Ice

Candied Lemon peel

8 oz Rocks Glass

In iced mixing glass add all ingredients except garnish. Hard shake and strain into fresh iced 8 oz rocks glass. Garnish with pear slice and candied lemon peel.

*Spiced Syrup is infused with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, allspice, wintergreen, mace, vanilla

1 oz PIERRE FERRAND AMBRE Cognac

1 oz DUBONNET ROUGE

.5 oz LUSTAU MANZANILLA Sherry

.5 oz Pineapple Shrub Syrup*

Dash Angostura Bitters

Pineapple Ball Garnish

4.5 oz California Style Cocktail Glass

Add all ingredients except garnish and bitters to iced mixing glass and stir. Strain into small chilled cocktail/cordial glass and add pineapple ball and bitters.

*Pineapple-Cane Sugar- rice wine vinegar syrup

1 oz WILD TURKEY RYE WHISKEY

1 oz FERRAND AMBER COGNAC

.5 oz LUSTAU MANZANILLA SHERRY

.5 oz Vinagre de Jerez Reserva Solera 1970 and Vinagre de Pedro Ximenez 25 year syrup and Mathilde Orange XO reduction

Bitter Truth Decanter Bitters

1 Large Caramelized Cocktail Onion*

5 oz Antique Coupe Cocktail Glass

*Pearl onions caramelized in bacon fat from Maplewood Meats, Green Bay,WI packed in orange peel and sherry vinegar syrup

Add all ingredients except garnish to iced mixing glass and stir. Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with cocktail onion.

2 oz PIERRE FERRAND

1 oz Sauternes Wine
3 Tellicherry Black Pepper Corns
3 Fresh Pitted Sweet Cherries

Tulip Glass

Muddle 3 pitted sweet cherries with 3 Tellicherry black pepper corns and .5 oz Sauternes in an un-iced mixing glass. Add rest of Sauternes, Sélection des Anges and stir. Add ice to mixing glass. Stir very briefly just to bring a chill and double strain into unchilled Tulip glass. No garnish.

This drink is chilled just slightly to ensure aroma and nose, and yet be refreshing and playful with dessert. The fruit, spice and young wine bring some youth back to the masterly matured cognac!

We begin with a few themes and threads through this cocktail pairing.

First is the use of fine Ferrand Cognac in two different ways. The young Ambre in a chilled traditional cocktail, the Pink Chemise, and a luxurious use of very mature master crafted Selection des Anges in the Gabriel’s Share. Not wishing to diminish the 30 year masterpiece of cognac, we wanted to create a cocktail that would focus on and respect this amazing Cognac. Just a bit of fruit, spice and mature sweet wine. All quality ingredients, but they pay homage to the star: The Ferrand Selection des Anges Cognac.

Cherries are used in two cocktails, the Cherry Bounce and the Gabriel’s Share to contrast the use of the same fruit in different ways. We are also using a Fino Sherry in the Pink Chemise and LaFayette cocktail, the former also including a Sherry vinegar syrup reduction for acid and sweetness and further depth for the main course.

Another theme is the inclusion of two vinegar shrubs/syrups in the Pink Chemise and Lafayette Cocktail; the Pink Chemise being fruitier, and the Lafayette being earthier. To contrast the use of general use of citrus fruit as the acidic part of a cocktail, we hope we can show the earthy tones in vinegar can be quite pleasant.

Two cocktails will also use Dubonnet Rouge, the Pink Chemise and the Cherry Bounce.

We begin the evening using white base spirits in two cocktails and follow with brown base spirits in the last three cocktails. The welcome cocktail is a gin long drink designed to refresh guests and quench thirst before dinner. The second slows down a bit, but stays refreshing by playing on a short Brasilian style batida; The Santa Catarina.

The third is a fun bridge between the previous cachaça based fruit drink. The Pink Chemise uses cognac, Dubonnet and pineapple vinegar reduction and a complex, deeper flavor emerges at the heart of the dinner menu.

The fourth, and main course is a bigger earthier cocktail, the LaFayette, with Rye, Cognac, Fino Sherry, Sherry vinegar syrup reduction and caramelized cocktail onions. The Rye anchors and adds some sharpness; the Cognac some softness, the Fino Sherry adds the dryness to balance the acidity and sweetness of the Sherry vinegar. The cocktail onion adds earthy tones with orange, the smokiness of bacon, sweet acidity, and, well, onion. The Rye and Cognac symbolize French assistance to America in our rebellion against the British.

Finally the Gabriel’s Share uses one of the finest cognacs in the world to end the evening. While the Selection de Anges stands on it’s own in exquisite complexity, we wanted to go against protocol and make a singular and luxurious cocktail as a grand finale to pair with the bitterness of chocolate and sweet/tart blackberries in the dessert.  The grandfather gets out and plays with cherries, pepper and Sauternes.

Enjoy!