Nocino Cocktail: Brass Elephant

Recipe: Braden Alsnauer , Frasca Food and Wine Boulder , Colorado

Photo: John Valls

November 19, 2019

Nocino lends a balancing bittersweetness to this seasonal cocktail.

“Like many classic Italian liqueurs, there’s a beautiful balance of bitterness and sweetness in nocino,” says Boulder bartender Braden Alsnauer. In this cocktail he created at Frasca Food and Wine, the liqueur beautifully ties together the the drink’s other components.

Ingredients

1 oz. vanilla-infused rye whiskey
1 oz. apple brandy (Frasca uses Laird’s)
¾ oz. nocino
¼ oz. Jamaican rum
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Tools:barspoon
Glass:coupe
Garnish:orange twist

Preparation

Stir all of the ingredients with ice until chilled, then strain into a chilled glass, and garnish.

Vanilla-Infused Rye: Split 2 vanilla beans (alternatively, use a dash of vanilla bean paste) and place into a 750-ml. bottle of rye whiskey. Allow to infuse for 1 to 2 weeks, to taste. Use within 2 months.