We've Got Time
I love small things – pinch bowls, notebooks, those room service ketchup bottles. Some I use, some I hoard. In the early weeks of the pandemic, when many of us were going through our closets in a panic to organize what we could control, I found two small bottles of grappa from a trip to Tuscany many moons ago. One was cobalt blue, the other canary yellow, frosted like sea glass. I’m sure I purchased them as a souvenir of time and place at some cute little shop on a cobbled street luring in the tourists – not exactly a guarantee of quality. Infusion to the rescue! And a chance to use the hardened dried cranberries I didn’t have the heart to waste. After a long soak in the booze, the cranberries oozed out their fruity tartness and made the fiery grappa much more palatable.
Makes 1 drink
- 2 ounces dried cranberry-infused grappa (see below)
- 1 ounce fresh orange juice
- ½ teaspoon maple syrup
- 3 dashes cardamom bitters
- Ice
Add the grappa, orange juice, maple syrup, and bitters to a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake to chill. Strain into a chilled coup. (It's also good on the rocks – drinker's choice.)
Garnish: grappa-infused dried cranberries threaded in between an orange twist on a cocktail pick
Dried Cranberry-Infused Grappa: Cover ¼ cup of dried cranberries with 2 ounces of grappa in a lidded jar and leave in a dark spot for a week. Strain into a small jar. Use the cranberries in baked goods.
