The Tangroni

2 oz. Gin (preferably G-Vine)
1 oz. Aperol
1 oz. tangerine juice

Shake over ice and strain into a large cold martini glass.

Thoughts:
I have often thought that the Negroni suffered from a strangely medicinal taste so here I ofter this version. G-Vine is an incredible new grape-based gin offering from France. It has a flowery taste and rolls which lingers on the tongue. It pairs very well with the lighter taste of Aperol. The addition of light and sweet tangerine juice makes this my new favorite drink. Of course, the Tangroni would not suffer from another once of gin. As a matter of fact, pass the bottle, would ya?

A my name is Averna

Hello friends. I do apologize for the hiatus, but life has kept me quite busy as of late. Not too busy to drink, of course, but mayhaps too busy to write about it. I have recently become enamored with 2 Italian liquers: Averna and Aperol.

Averna is a wonderfully complex sicillian bitter (or "amaro" in Italian). The color is as dark as my soul (or at least as dark as the souls of my shoe) but the taste is smooth and well balanced. The bitterness is mellowed out by the sweetness. The fullness of the flavor makes it a great cold weather drink. So far my favorite way to consume Averna (aside from straight) is as follows:

The Rye Humour
2 parts Rye
1 part Averna
pour over ice

Aperol is a light refreshing Italian liquer made by the Compari company. The flavor is bright with strong notes of bitter orange and rhubarb (which may explain the rosey red color). Aperol is delicious in soda (and champagne, I bet). I will have to experiment more to discover my favorite way to drink it. And when I do find it, you better believe I will be posting about it.