Brass Stallion Cocktail

It's been almost two years since I gave you a new original cocktail recipe from the Firewater Lounge. So it's high time that I corrected that. This cocktail I invented when I was looking for a cocktail to drink with a pretzel and cheese snack at midnight. I know what you are thinking, pretzels and cheese call for good ol' Wisconsin beer. You would be right. But cocktails sit much better on this near 50-year-old's stomach than beers do at this point, especially at midnight. Thus the Brass Stallion cocktail was born. It is as refreshing as a cocktail can get in the winter months and riffs what a yummy apple Manhattan might taste like.

The core of the Brass Stallion is applejack. This is a liquor you commonly see on Wisconsin shelves that most people confuse with apple brandy. Classically, it's not. In history, applejack gets its name from freeze distillation, or jacking, which involves freezing hard cider and then removing the ice, which 'jacks up' the alcohol content and concentrates the apple flavor (and, yes, folks, it's where Americans get the phrase 'jacked up' from).

The jacking process means that applejack will have more sweet apple flavor than, say, a typical Calvados (the French tend to use sourer apples as well). So I picked applejack because apples go so well with cheese spread, but I was worried that it would be too sweet so I had to add a little something bitter. Enter Sanpellegrino Chinotto. Chinotto is a bittersweet soda made from Italian chinotto oranges. Chinotto is a favorite beverage to wash down salty dishes in Italy, ones that are fried or loaded with anchovies; it definitely couldn't hurt in my situation with my salty pretzels. In addition, I added a bit of licorice-cherry bitter twang that comes from Peychaud's Bitters.

The end result was much better than I anticipated. Easily something that I would pour any time of the year, but specifically between the 'Ber months (September and December). Do note that the ingredients here seem much more exotic and expensive than they are. Woodman's should easily have numerous bottles of all three.

Brass Stallion Cocktail

Holly's Original

2 ounces Applejack

3 ounces Sanpellegrino Chinotto.

1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Build in an iced old fashioned glass. Add applejack and the Peychauds, then add the Chinotto. Stir sparingly to reserve the carbonation of the soda. Garnish with bourbon cherries, dried apple wheel, or both.