Good news, everyone! I made this drink on a Wednesday afternoon after therapy instead of on a Thursday morning; I feel so accomplished. I also have to take Linus to the vet Thursday morning (he’s fine!), so necessity is the mother of invention. Or rather, necessity is the mother of invention when you’re on a deadline.
This month’s cocktail is inspired by Kristen Proby’s Savor You! Do read Elyse’s review because (as always) it’s fantastic. This is part of the Fusion series, which I highly recommend if you enjoy female friendships and yummy food descriptions.
A lot of thought went into making this drink and by “thought,” I mean a stream of conscious weirdness. I really loved Mia in this book and all of her Italian firebrand glory! Her personality reminded me of this drink that’s a mix of red wine and coke. It makes a lot of appearances in The Real Housewives of New Jersey, which (if you haven’t seen) has a revolving cast of wealthy Italian women. Now, my Italian American boyfriend has never heard of this drink. But, my Italian American roommate, who was born in Jersey, has. She also mentioned it’s popular in Spanish cultures as well. For the sake of my reasoning, we’re going to say that my roommate is correct in her knowledge and thus coke and red wine is a thing.
That’s where the seed was planted.
I’m not a big red wine drinker. I like my wine sweet and filled with ice, like a pleb. Back when I had ceramic brackets on my braces over a year ago, red wine would also stain my teeth. Enter Ramazzotti Amaro! It’s not a wine, but it has a deep cherry taste with notes of licorice.
Mia is also a bit of a workaholic and for whatever reason, I associate workaholics with Coca-Cola. I’ve had many a frenetic boss who would chug Coke, Diet Cokes, Coke Zeros, etc. With the soda and the Amaro, the drink would be pretty sweet. I’ve cut out soda for the most part in my life, making it very hard for me to finish a whole can. I promise there’s a parallel to the book because while Savor You has its fun moments, there is some painful history between Mia and the hero Cam.
What goes well with cherries and can add some sour to balance the sweet?
Limes!
I’m also a sucker for a cherry limeade. In the end, we have a drink that’s bubbly and syrupy sweet, but has some spicy notes of licorice and a kick of lime. It’s probably my most adventurous drink given the Amaro and it makes me wish it were warm enough to lie out on a towel while sipping it from a fancy straw. I’m calling it PTO or Paid Time Off, something Mia desperately needs and that you’re going to want more of.
As an additional bonus, the team at William Morrow Paperbacks is giving away an ARC to one (1) lucky winner!
Shopping list:
Ramazzotti Amaro
Cherry cola
Lime
Luxardo cherries (optional)
Proportions:
8 oz. cherry cola
2 oz. Amaro
Juice of 1 lime
Directions:
- Real easy peezy! Put everything into a glass with ice.
- Give it a little stir!
Modifications and notes:
- I chose Cherry Coke, though you’re free to use whatever cherry cola brand you prefer.
- Luxardo cherries are so delicious and I look for any excuse to use them. In this recipe, they’re completely optional. I put a tablespoon of the syrup into the drink, along with a few cherries, just for fun!
- If you haven’t had Ramazzotti Amaro before, it’s an Italian digestif. To me, it tastes very much like black cherry licorice (black licorice, not red). If you hate the taste of black licorice, skip this one. A good substitute would be Luxardo Cherry Liqueur, or Kirsch.
- I like the lime because it helps cut the sugary sweetness. Add more if you want to increase the tartness!
- If you like the cute little coke bottle and adorable straw, hit up Michael’s! I purchased both for $3 and change.
- I hope Savage Garden’s “Cherry Cola” is also now stuck in your head like it is in mine.
Ready for the giveaway? To enter, tell us about your favorite meal! Does nothing beat a silky slice of NY cheesecake? Or do you love a juice, medium rare steak with melty compound butter? Let us know!
Standard disclaimers apply: We are not being compensated for this giveaway. Void where prohibited. Open to US residents where permitted by applicable law. Must be over 18. Please wear proper attire in the kitchen as we don’t recommend going shirtless near an open flame. Take your dang pots and pans out of the oven before preheating. And as my mom would say, your shirt is not a napkin! Comments will close Sunday April 29, 2018 around noon ET, and a winner will be announced shortly thereafter.
WINNER UPDATE: Congratulations to PamG! Thanks to all who commented; now I’m very hungry.
Happy drinking!
My favorite meal is really good Texas barbecue brisket with some good barbecue turkey or sausage on the side.
Or an artichoke.
Can’t decide.
Fried chicken, homemade mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, fresh green beans and watermelon. Yellow cake with chocolate frosting as dessert.
Hard to choose a favorite meal but I do love Italian food so I’m going to go with a good helping of spaghetti and meatballs.And creme brulee for dessert.
Any meal that gets ‘favorite’ ranking has to be homemade in my book. Even the most simple dish is elevated when you can taste the love. When my partner takes the time to make me breakfast potatoes (spiced, roasted potato hunks with peppers, onion, and lots of bacon, topped with cheese, hot sauce, and an over easy egg)I always feel like it’s the greatest thing ever. Paired with a mug of hot black tea flavored with orange and bergamot, and maybe a little bowl of fresh blueberries… that’s my favorite meal.
For me favorite meals are more about the place than the actual food, although usually the food is pretty darn good in those situations. Chocolate sodas with my mom. A pork pull in North Carolina. Clam chowder at Nick’s in Cottonwood, AZ. A lunchable eaten gazing at Mt Rainier, or the crab BLT eaten later that day watching the sun set behind Bainbridge Island. Lobster boil with my dad’s service reunion in Glouster, MA, where I finally understood what the fuss was all about. All favorites.
Yum! Yes this is very similar to a kalimotxo, which is can be just a cheap mix of red wine & coke. My fiancé tells me that was the go-to “get drunk cheap & fast” drink of choice when he studied abroad in Spain. It’s become MY go-to “end of the night” drink when I’m out and don’t reaaallly want the full impact of another full serving of alcohol. (I’m a cheap drunk)
Anyways! I have way too many favorite meals to choose from, but I think my favorite breakfast is country fried steak w/ eggs.
My favorite meal is Pad Thai. But I also love a good curry, sushi, or pizza.
@ Amanda – A local winery offers a red wine made with a mix of Concord and other grapes that is absolutely yummy over ice. (Alas, only shipped in Virginia.) I think I’ll have to try it with a Coke on my next PTO day, but this drink looks pretty tempting, too.
My favorite meal is a potluck with friends, family, or neighbors where we eat all kinds of food in fellowship, even four kinds of potatoes! I’ll bring the Hummingbird cake or chocolate covered strawberries.
I love nachos. ALL the nachos….
anything with peanut butter
My favorite meal is baked macaroni and cheese made with the recipe my grandma used to make. It is the ultimate comfort food!
Also, I’m not a huge drinker but this totally sounds great! I think it’s the Cherry Coke that will make me try this: mac and cheese with a Cherry Coke would be a fantastic meal! I also appreciate the non-black licorice options since I’m not as fond of that. Definitely going to give this a try this weekend!
Pan-seared or grilled lamb chops with a wine reduction sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed baby vegetables. Either flan or tiramisu for dessert. Yum!
I don’t do licorice or Coke, alas! Had to wonder though … was the Razza – Rama transposition pre-cocktail, or post?
🙂
Any meal I don’t have to make or clean up after! But there was that chocolate torte in Nova Scotia and the bread pudding with whiskey sauce in London. Looks like a theme though – desserts and foreign countries.
Favorite meal…roast and potatoes with pan gravy. Nothing says comfort food like grandma’s standby Sunday dinner.
One of my favorite meals is sushi. Yum!
NY-style pizza. Basic, cheesy, and delicious!
Short answer: all of them. Sigh…
So funny–I could detail the meal that I’d be served in hell everyday: Liver, mashed unseasoned turnips, and coconut anything.
Favorites? Anything with scallops, lemon, sauteed or gratineed potatoes, asparagus or eggplant, and a creamy pale dessert with berries or other fruit.
Favorite meal is highly dependent on mood and weather. A beautiful day like today might be veggies and a protein on the grill enjoyed outside with a glass of red or a beer.
Fruit smoothies and generally, fruit desserts.
My favorite meal is spaghetti with Rao’s marinara sauce… a nice red wine is a bonus. My favorite desert is anything chocolate.
Favorite meal-that is a tough one! My husband is an excellent cook, everything he makes is delicious…
I will say my very favorite meal ever-there used to be a restaurant in Evanston, Il called Dave’s Italian Kitchen. The spaghetti carbonara there was incredible, I’ve searched and searched and never found anything to compare to it. If I could order up a favorite meal right now, it would be that. I moved from Illinois in 1991-and sadly now that place is closed-but that meal!
My favorite dessert is probably a really good brownie with walnuts, still warm with vanilla ice cream on top.
Tacos
I don’t know if I could choose just one favorite–steak with mashed potatoes and creamed corn takes me back to our special meals growing up. But now our celebratory go-to is usually sashimi and other sushi, and all the other sides we can think of, LOL! Or maybe a big bowl of savory ramen…
I like a nice broiled salmon with a big green salad and maybe some roasted potatoes. Or pie!
anything pasta 🙂 with cheesecake for desert! Thanks for sharing!
Home made beef stew and fresh Rhodes dinner rolls. Yum!
Homesick southerner would have to say a plate at any place that does meat and three. The three in this case are the vegetables (and yes, mac’an’cheese is a vegetable).
my sister’s homemade rolls or my great-grandma’s spaghetti! Yum!
Homesick midwesterner would have to say anything my grill master father puts on the grill. That would include mea, veggies and potatoes.
I will ALWAYS be here for some roasted bone marrow, served with some toasted bread. Mm.
My favorite meal is Tres Amigos…a delicious blend of grilled steak, shrimp and chicken with onions peppers, pineapple, and mexican cheese. It is amazing!!
Scallops. I love scallops.
Favorite meal? After church dinner at my mother’s with some assortment of friends and relatives, home made potato salad, steamed or roasted broccoli, one of her vegetarian casseroles, homemade pie or cookies for dessert. And, of course, great conversation about all sorts of things (including gossip about absent friends and family).
I love food, so this is a difficult one. I’m going to go with the brioche French toast topped with peaches stewed in bourbon, creme anglais, bacon, and Brie that I had as a daily special last year at Blue’s Egg. Sadly it’s not repeatable, but it was the best thing I have eaten in my life.
My dad’s lasagna. Nothing better.
A great meal would include a thick steak Pittsburgh style, a sweet potato with butter, a dark green mixed garden salad with olive oil and white strawberry peach balsamic dressing (from The Favored Olive), and fresh raspberries and cream for dessert. And, of course, wine of choice.