Bottled Affection – Dow’s Nirvana Port
This is probably the cocktail which I neglected the longest. I had the basic idea during Christmas time 2019. Now, two-and-a-quarter years later I finally got around to mix it and write about it. However, this also gives me the excuse to review a special port from Dow’s. On top of that, I also have a rather intriguing homemade ingredient for you!
First let us take a look at the Dow’s Nirvana Reserva Porto. Dow’s created this Reserve Port together with the The Flanders Taste Foundation to complement dark chocolates. They did tastings and scientific analysis to see which components of the port go especially well with chocolate. In the end, the suggestion is to pair the Nirvana Port with dark chocolates with a cacao content of 60 % to 75 %. There is a large portion of the old grape varieties Touriga Franca and Touriga Nacional in the port which is bottled at an ABV of 20 %.
Spices, red fruits and tobacco
The port starts off with a bunch of red fruits and typical red wine notes. However, after a short while more spicy notes appear. Followed by some tobacco. On its own, the Nirvana Reserve is a great value-for-money sipper. Yet, the combination with dark chocolate really is its masterpiece. I tried the port with two different chocolates, the Valrohna Tulakalum 75 % from Belize and the Naturata Panama 80 %. It worked well with both, but I prefer the combination with the Panama 80 % chocolate.
Basically a fancy Rob Roy
The basic idea behind the “Bottled Affection” was a Christmassy drink based on a Rob Roy cocktail. However, over the years the recipe was on my “Ideas” list it changed a bit. First, I got the idea to serve the drink in a bottle to better fit the name. Second, I changed the sweet vermouth for Chai infused vermouth which I had standing around anyway. Last but not least, I switched the Amaro for a homemade one. When making bitters, I had some left-over bittering agent based on a Swedish herbs mix. Its intriguing bitterness and cacao notes inspired me to just throw in some sugar and us it as an Amaro.
3 cl Chai Infused Yzaguirre Sweet Vermouth
3 cl Dow’s Nirvana Reserva Porto
0,75 cl Homemade Amaro*
3 cl Cold Water
Stir – strain – chilled small bottle – serve with glass straw;
Garnish: Large Orange Twist;
Song: Cold War Kids – Bottled Affection;
*Make a bittering agent using Swedish herbs and unaged spirit – strain – mix with 100 g sugar per litre – let sit until sugar is dissolved
The “Bottled Affection” starts with an flavourful combination of scotch and wine notes. You also instantly notice the spices in the drink. After a short while the bitterness of the Amaro becomes visible. You should really use the homemade Amaro, with its combination of Fernet and gentian flavours, lightly. The water really balances out the whole drinking experience.
*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The port was provided by the Perola GmbH.
