Welcome to December, everyone! I hope those who are experiencing winter are staying warm and that the upcoming holidays leave you feeling happy and loved. This is the last Covers & Cocktails post of 2016 and I want to thank the Bitchery for reading and interacting with these posts. It’s really awesome to see an idea become a monthly post on the site. Hopefully, some of you have been able to try the recipes and enjoy them!
This month’s book is Nico by Sarah Castille and let me tell you, it is bananas. The book does deal with the mafia, so I’m giving you a warning if you’re not a fan of those themes. But seriously, this book has all the makings of modern crazysauce: an over the top villain, some double crossing, and even a brief marriage of convenience. And it’s all set in Las Vegas, which is why I’m calling the drink Luck Be a Lady. It’s also a reference to Guys and Dolls, which is one of my favorite musicals of all time. The hero, Nico, is a huge Sinatra fan as well.
The main characters have ties to various Italian mob families, so I picked an Italian drink. Luck Be a Lady is essentially a blood orange Aperol spritz. An Aperol spritz is a popular aperitif in parts of Italy and I initially heard about it when my (very Italian) boyfriend went to Italy this spring and asked if I’d ever had it. Traditionally, the drink is made with Aperol, a bitter orange (in taste and in color) aperitif, and Prosecco with a splash of soda water.
For this version, I replaced the soda water with San Pellegrino Blood Orange. I also coated the bottom of the glass in juice from my Luxardo cherries for some extra bloody emphasis. And since this is a mafia-themed book, blood everywhere, even if only from fruit, seemed fitting. This cocktail is citrusy, a bit bitter, and has some great bubbly lightness from the Prosecco.
Shopping list:
Prosecco
Aperol
San Pellegrino Blood Orange
Luxardo cherries
Orange (optional for garnish)
Proportions:
3 oz Prosecco
1 1/2 oz Aperol
2 oz San Pellegrino
4 tablespoons of Luxardo cherry juice
Directions:
- Layer the cherry juice on the bottom of the glass. It’s the thickest liquid out of the bunch and when “floating” liquids, you have the heaviest at the bottom.
- Pour in Aperol and then Prosecco over a spoon, with the bottom face up and the tip touching the glass. You want the liquid to touch the spoon and the side of the glass first before falling to the bottom of the glass.
- Top with San Pellegrino. I just eyeball it, but it’s roughly 2 oz.
- Garnish with cherries, orange peel, or orange slices.
Modifications and notes:
- If you’d rather, you can make a normal Aperol spritz without the San Pellegrino. It’s a bit lighter using just soda water.
- Alternatively, you can use a flavored seltzer water to get more bubbles, but still add in some extra citrus taste.
- I can’t recommend Luxardo cherries enough, honestly. I love them and if you have the opportunity to buy them, do it!
- For the Prosecco, my local store had these adorable mini bottles. I will warn you that it took me ages to unscrew the damn cap, but one bottle is enough to make one drink, plus leave a little Prosecco leftover for sipping later on.
Happy drinking!
Love the whole bitter orange thing. This drink is definitely a go. Mafia books, though? Just no. My father, for complicated reasons, was not raised with his siblings, so some of the more…. shady… elements of being Sicilian in Chicago didn’t impact his life, or ours growing up in the burbs. Then one day while visiting my uncle and whining about some problem getting back something I loaned, he uttered the five scariest words I’d ever heard: “You know, you got family.”
So, yeah. Skipping the book.
ooooh, I had an Italian boyfriend once. We did not spend much time mixing drinks. [wiggling eyebrows]
The drink looks tasty! I may have to spring for Luxardo cherries for the Godfather-watchin’ Manhattan drinker in the house. We’ve been spoiled by the Silver Palate cherries from Fresh Market.
YESSSS. This is right up my alley! Thanks, Amanda!
I think I need to make these for Christmas Eve before dinner! So now to track down the Luxardo cherries. I’ve never seen them before, but I’ll ask my bartender brother-in-law.
And maybe have some daydreams about my nonexistent Italian boyfriend…
Thanks, Amanda!
I don’t drink, but the book sounds interesting! Can’t wait to pick it up and start reading.
Amanda, this sounds fabulous; can’t wait to try it. However, I am mystified by Step 2 (Pour in Aperol and then Prosecco over a spoon, with the bottom face up and the tip touching the glass. You want the liquid to touch the spoon and the side of the glass first before falling to the bottom of the glass). Why? Not that I won’t do it; it sounds much more fun than if I just pour the Aperol and Prosecco into the glass freehand. But what magic makes this? And when else can I use this? Thanks!
@Betsydub: This is a layered drink. The liquors all have different specific gravities or “weights”. You start with the heaviest, then the next lightest and so on. Each layer is floated on top of the previous one. The purpose of the spoon is to keep them from blending as you pour. The more layers and the more colors you have, the more dramatic the drink.
@Betsydub: What Sanda said! However, if you’re not layering the cherry juice on the bottom, you can just pour in everything else as you like.
Amanda and Sanda (did y’all plan that?):
Thanks so much for the explanation(s). It reminds me of high school Chemistry experiments, but the conclusion of “Luck Be a Lady” is far more rewarding than (either year of) the h.s. class ever was. I plan to be more successful with this experiment…