Santa Barbara’s Magic Walnut Ride
Here’s an after-dinner drink perfect for a fall wedding. It’s also for those who love Negronis and low-alcohol cocktails. It’s more of a moody Negroni—best sipped when the wind is howling and the rain is flowing. Lots of Old World influence here, with a classic baking spice vs. bitter orange vs. walnut kind of pairing. Nocino is a natural accent during the cold months for stirred cocktails, punches and hot drinks. A little bit goes a long way. This cocktail utilizes classic Negroni specs (1:1:1) with the nocino accent. It’s simple, yet definitely more than the sum of its parts. It’s a great example of how to coax big flavors from a cocktail without needing to lean on high- ABV spirits to achieve the goal.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce Torino-style Italian vermouth
- 1 ounce Amaro Lucano
- 1 ounce oloroso sherry
- 4 dashes nocino
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a stirring glass. Fill with ice. Stir cocktail for 30 seconds or so, to taste, then strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
TO MAKE IT FOR A CROWD
- Scale up all elements of the recipe, except for the bitters. Keep bitters at a 50% level when scaling up (example: a 10x volume increase for all ingredients correlates to a 5x increase in bitters). Add 20% pure cold water. Add more to taste if needed, with the idea being that the drink is meant to be chilled at perfect dilution (no more ice or water added). During service, pour into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
Notes
Photo: Rob Tran
