What? You didn't go anywhere?
Oh right. That was me. I was on vacation. But I gave you quite a lot to drink before I left, I'm SURE. And if you didn't have enough, you could always turn to beer to get you through the hottest summer month!
I wasn't idle though on vacation. I did my own share of adventurous drinking. It was mostly wine, but I did recently try and compare a Doubonet Rouge from France, a Pimm's from Great Britain and a Cocchi Americano from Italy.
The Cocchi Americano has been around since the late nineteenth century and is used as an apertif. Serving an apertif is quite fashionable (if you're in Europe in the late 1800's and can afford to). I think though, that nobody these days would turn one down if you were to serve one. The idea of an apertif is one of appetite stimulation - something Americans could use more of. ?! Think of it as pre-gaming.
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Nose: Sweet, like lemon, licorice and chartreuse (herbal)
Taste: Syruppy at first. Light to medium bodied, so not as heavy as you might think. Sweet for a moment like sherry, and then herbal and slightly bitter at the last.
Finish: The finish is lasting, but not pungent or stinging like you might expect from something herbal.
I drank my Cocchi neat with a soda and orange slice on the side. And I'm going to go back for more.
Link to a Recipe for a Corpse Reviver, which includes gin, cocchi, absinthe and cointreau. Let me know if you try it!
