Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/551222
august 2015 / the tasting panel / 1 17 "It can take over a drink really easily, so it's important to use ingredients that stand up to it," he advises. Case in point: Giles' Brancamenta-centric cocktail at Erv's, Put That in Your Pipe. "It's such a robust thing," Giles says, "that you can put it with other spirits that have a lot of punch and it can hold its own weight." Hold its own weight it certainly does. Brancamenta is part of the historical family of amari that have long played an important role in Italian culture at the table, specifically, as a digestif chock full of herbs, roots and other bright botanicals that give each amaro its distinct personality. But unlike its ancient cousin, Fernet-Branca, with its sepia-toned history, Brancamenta came into play in the groovy 1960s. It was and remains, both literally and figu- ratively, a refreshing twist on a classic that offers a powerful punch of flavor without the knock to your senses. "Brancamenta is less bitter and has less alcohol—around 29% ABV," says Jeremy Oertel, Head Bartender at Williamsburg, Brooklyn's Donna, whose much-lauded creation, the Brancoloda launched a thousand Piña Colada riffs. Oertel's love of amari comes from spending summers in Puglia, where the father of his girl- friend and fellow bar maven Natasha David, owner of New York's Nightcap, hails. But he came to his creamy, minty drink by way of frosty inspiration when worked at Park Slope's Dram. "One of the waitresses at Dram would come in with ice cream sandwiches and we'd pour Brancamenta over them," he recalls. "And then the Brancamenta reps were coming around with Brancamenta chilling machines. Trying it that way, I thought, This stuff is really delicious, and started playing with the drink." "It's sweet, bitter and minty, and I also think it's fun and challenging and something that consumers don't really know about, which means it's an easy ingredient to introduce because they don't have foregone conclusions," says Chaim Dauermann, Head Bartender for Manhattan's the Up & Up, where he makes two different drinks using Brancamenta: The Barnum Effect, which is a genever-based Mai Tai with curaçao, pistachio orgeat, Brancamenta, and lemon juice and Watching Cool Runnings, an equal- parts combination of Brancamenta, Plymouth Gin, pear brandy and Pedro Ximénez Sherry. "It's a weird combo of ingredients, but I assure it works out well!" he laughs. It works out so well, that the drink started as what Dauermann dubs "Happys" on his menu—short, mini- drinks that are enjoyable for a few sips to allow you to move onto something else without committing to a full serv- ing—but, it was too good to stay small. "During down time, normal people will correspond with family and friends or read a book—I just think about drinks!" Dauermann began day- dreaming about ways of combining the minty-ness of Brancamenta with other ingredients. "I put the Brancamenta with pear brandy and they were really good, so I decided to make a Happy. But I thought, Hmm, this needs more richness, so added Pedro Ximénez Sherry. But then, it was too rich, so I needed to cut it down, so I added the Plymouth Gin. Then I realized it was so good, it needed to bigger than a Happy." The Brancoloda made by Jeremy Oertel, Head Bartender at Williamsburg, Brooklyn's Donna, launched a thousand Piña Colada riffs.