Lunchtime Hanky Panky

In today's SF Chronicle, Gary Regan writes about the Hanky Panky cocktail, created by Ada Coleman, a legendary bartender from the Savoy. The drink interests me because it contains Fernet-Branca, the incredibly bitter Italian amaro that all the bar/restaurant industry workers in San Francisco drink by the gallon both to cause and cure hangovers. I've really, really tried hard to like Fernet, and am afraid that I'll get kicked out of the city if I don't learn to love it. So I whipped up this cocktail but was stuck on "two dashes" of Fernet the recipe calls for. Fernet is a bitter liqueur rather than an aromatic bitters, which means (technically) you can drink it on its own. So it doesn't come with the little dasher plug on it like your standard Angostura or Peychaud's bitters. So I used about 1/4 ounce of Fernet in the drink and now the drink tastes like Fernet. Not loving it. I'll use less next time. I have had one Fernet cocktail that freaks me out how much I love it; served at Beretta and I believe created by Thad Vogler. It's the Fiskadoro, made with Fernet, Grand Marnier, lemon juice, and Tia Maria. There is nothing in the ingredient list that screams "yummy" to me, but somehow the balance of the drink brings out the mint element of Fernet but not so much the dry bitter barky element. Lordy it's delicious. Now I just made myself thirsty, and I already have a drink in front of me.

Amaros in Italy and SF

Somehow I missed this giant story on amaros that ran in the SF Chronicle a couple of weeks ago, by Wolfgang Weber of Wine & Spirits. Good stuff.

Veloce name change

The delicious grappa/amaro liqueur Veloce that is starting to make waves in the Bay Area just announced that due to a lawsuit they're changing the name of the product.

VELOCE LIQUORE DI MILANO HAD A LEGAL CHALLENGE FOR THE RIGHTS TO THE VELOCE NAME WITH BAR VELOCE IN NEW YORK LAST SEPTEMBER.

WE HAVE DECIDED THAT EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY VELOCE LIQUORE DI MILANO WILL BE RENAMED TO DIMMI LIQUORE DI MILANO.

DIMMI IS A WORD IN ITALIAN THAT IS USED FREQUENTLY EVERYDAY AMONG FRIENDS. IT IS AS COMMON AS THE WORD CIAO. IT MEANS “TELL ME” IN FRIENDLY WAY. IT IS NOW THE NEW BRAND TRADEMARK FOR LIQUORE DI MAILANO.

THE NAME TRANSITION FROM VELOCE TO DIMMI WILL BE OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS. WE ASK OUR FRIENDS, CONSUMERS AND ACCOUNTS FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND SUPPORT DURING THIS TIME.

THE ONLY THING TO CHANGE WILL BE THE NAME. THE GLASS, BOTTLE DESIGN AND OF COURSE THE WONDERFUL SPIRIT IN THE BOTTLE WILL ALL REMAIN THE SAME.

Goodbye Veloce, Hello Dimmi.

Another contest

Here's another cocktail contest, this one sponsored by Averna and possibly ending in a trip to Italy and $1500, and as far as I can see you don't have to be a bartender to enter it. Details here.