Gaz shares his ‘101 Best New Cocktails’ with us, which will ultimately appear in his 2011 Manual for Bartenders.
Adapted from a recipe by Chris Hannah, French 75 Bar, New Orleans.
Decolletage
“When I first heard the word decolletage spoken aloud I was dazzled… And then after discovering its meaning I was enchanted. I was determined to create a cocktail worthy of its name—enjoy.” Chris Hannah.
- 45 ml (1.5 oz) El Tesoro reposado tequila
- 30 ml (1 oz) Dubonnet Rouge
- 15 ml (.5 oz) Aperol
- 7.5 ml (.25 oz) Fernet Branca
- 1 orange twist, as garnish
Stir over ice and strain into an ice-filled brandy snifter (or double old-fashioned glass). Break orange twist over the drink, then add as garnish.
Gaz sez: Chris gets extra points for being “determined to create a cocktail worthy of” the nameDecolletage, He’s a man after my own heart. His creativity, which has been widely, and deservedly, acknowledged in the cocktail community, is shown off with shiny brass button in this drink. It’s a Decolletage that teases to the point of the areolae.
The tequila, Dubonnet, and Aperol all make sense in terms of pretty much knowing that they’ll play nice together in he sand box, but then the Fernet comes along and the bar is automatically raised.
Will it commend the glass? And the answer is no. It adds layers and layers of complexity, but it also allows all the other ingredients play their part. Nice one, Chris.