Sunday, February 15, 2009

Valentine's Day Cocktails

For those who like holiday-themed cocktails, Valentine's Day provides a problem. The obvious visual thing to go for is red; the obvious flavor is sweet. But how to avoid some sort of treacly mess, like the chocolate martini? Eric Felten discusses the chocolate martini very entertainingly in his weekend column in the Wall Street Journal. I often like to make whatever Felten describes if it sounds interesting, and it usually does, and if the ingredients are not impossible.

The column may be behind the subscription wall, so here's the Dolores, suggested by Felten and tweaked by him to make it less sweet:

2 oz. brandy (he recommends Spanish, I used Reynal)
1/2 oz. dark creme de cacao (Arrow, might be the first time I'd ever used the stuff!)
1/2 oz. Cherry Heering

Stir, strain, add a cherry.

I made a cocktail and a half, strained it into two small, gold-rimmed stemmed coupes I'm very proud of, and served them with dinner. The Cat Bastet likes Chocolate Martinis made with Godiva liqueur, but she approved of this one. I thought it was exceptional for a dessert-style drink, but of course I'm very fond of brandy cocktails. Should have taken a picture of the cocktails, the Cat Bastet thought they were pretty.

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