OBOD – Ad Libitum
On our honeymoon, we visited the Amor Y Amargo Bar and had a wonderful evening. It left a lasting impression on me. Ever since I want more Amaros and more bitters in my homebar. Apart from that, I tried to recreated a drink the barkeeper tailor-made for me. It might not be the same drink, but I am very happy how the cocktail turned out!.
Besides being a beautiful bar, Amor Y Amargo’s Amaro and bitters selection is just impressive! My wife got a Bobby Burns variation with Meletti Amaro and my first choice fell on the “Sharpie Mustache”. However, my second drink impressed me the most. It was a combination of Laird’s Bottled in Bond, Cappelletti Amaro Pasubio, Cynar and Bitters Lab Rhubarb & Sea Salt Bitters.
Basically non of the original ingredients
Despite me having almost none of the ingredients, I thought I could recreate the drink to some extent. So, I chose a young calvados as a base. I replaced the blueberry flavoured Amaro with the Cappelletti Amaro Trentino and some Lantenhammer Blueberry Liqueur. Instead of the Bitter Lab’s bitters I went for Fee Brothers Rhubarb Bitters and a dash of 20 % saline solution. On top of that, when we had the drinks at Amor Y Amargo Duke Ellington’s Ad Lib On Nippon was playing, so I named the drink “Ad Libitum”.
0,75 cl Cappelletti Amaro Trentino
1,5 cl Lantenhammer Blueberry Liqueur
0,75 cl Cynar
1 Dash Saline Solution
Stir – strain – chilled Old-Fashioned glass over ice cubes;
Garnish: Orange Twist;
Song: Duke Ellington – Ad Lib On Nippon;
At the risk of repeating myself, my interpretation of the drink tastes different from the one I had in New York. Yet, you can taste some similarities and given my limited resources I am quite pleased with the result. The apple and blueberry notes go very well with the two Amaros. The bitter notes are a bit subdued and balanced by the other ingredients. The salt is noticeable, but does not overpower the rest of the drink.
