The Carrozzino

Guest post by Sean Lorre, the Blogtender’s Husband

I love liquor. I do. I love the bite and the burn of a good, strong drink. Hell, I would down straight, over-proof bourbon with a dash of bitters regularly if it didn’t lead me to lose my car keys while playing disc golf* at 3 a.m. or puke in a dive bar sink on a second date. (Rose, should I not say “puke” on a blog about delicious cocktails?) [You should not tell the world that you puked on our second date, is what you really should not do. -- Ed.]

I suppose the more refined way to refer to my cocktail proclivities is “spirit-forward,” but since the watchword for 2011 around here is honesty I’ll stick with how I really feel; I love booze. I’ve always loved a good Manhattan, but the first Martinez I ever had (Flatiron Lounge, May 2005) introduced me to the world of historical mixology and I never looked back.  When a friend introduced me to this all-liquor variation on a classic Sidecar (Italian translation: Carrozzino) I was both intrigued and a bit wary. It turned out to be pretty damn good and so I share it with you today.

“Carrozzino,” or even “Italian Sidecar,” was not the name by which I was originally introduced to this drink. In fact, I can’t remember what name my friend gave it; I just remember it sounded generic, non-descriptive and douche-y. But my traditionalist leanings led me to connect this recipe with the Sidecar immediately, cognac in the front with lemon and a secondary liquor back. We added the peach bitters to liven it up, as the Carrozzino lacks the perk of the traditional Sidecar’s fresh lemon juice. However, I find this to be smoother than a traditional Sidecar, and overall the imbiber is more than compensated by the direct warmth of the cognac, making for a great wintertime concoction.

The Carrozzino

2 oz. Remy VO cognac

½ oz. limoncello

½ oz. Stock sweet vermouth

4-5 dashes Fee Brothers Peach Bitters

Lemon twist, for garnish

Combine all the ingredients in an ice-filled shaker. Shake and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon twist.

Tasting notes:

We tried this with Punt e Mes vermouth thinking it would be an oh-so-clever way to make the drink that much more Italian, but the result was just a little too oh-so-bitter.

*“frolf,” for all you Costanza fans out there