Minute Before Midnight

One of our favorite amari in the Lounge is CioCiaro, a bitter-sweet digestif created by Vincenzo Paolucci in 1873 in central Italy. For those Lounge Lizards not fortunate to have had the experience of CioCiaro, its aroma is full of light cola and citrus peels. This amaro tastes like it smells, with cola and oranges upfront, clove in the middle, bitter lemon peels and a bit of anise as an afterthought.

Because of its cola and citrus flavors, CioCiaro is pure joy when paired with coffee in cocktails before dinner and chocolate in cocktails after dinner. Knowing that people are at home with their liquor right now, we encourage that you branch out and buy this very versatile amaro.

For a cocktail recipe, we’d recommend a new classic that riffs from a creation from Misty Kalkofen of Boston’s famous cocktail bar Drink. This sophisticated little number marries CioCiaro with the smokiness of mezcal and the fruity elderflower of St-Germain which brings out the lemony quality of the amaro. The name of the drink is 11:59 p.m. which is a mouthful, so I call it a Minute Before Midnight.

11:59 p.m.

Classic Series

2 ounces mezcal

1 ½ ounces St-Germain

½ ounce CioCiaro amaro

Combine all ingredients in an iced stirring vessel. Stir for 40 revolutions evenly to keep the smoothness of the cocktail. Strain into a chilled coupe, cocktail glass or Nick and Nora glass. Drink slowly to lengthen the flavor on the tongue.

Rum and Amari

We were rum-bombed by Stiff for Winterfest XIX, so we thought we'd pour an initial duo of these rums mixed with the high-class amari that we will also feature at the party. Since these drinks were created while watching jousting, we named them for warriors of the past and their fields of battle.