27) Allegory #1 and #2

Correction - It was pointed out to me that the instructions on the #2 were incorrect thanks to some devious cutting and pasting action on my part. Previously the instructions indicated that one should top off the drink with milk as in the #1, however that is oh so wrong. The half and half was a replacement for the milk, so there is no need to add it in this incarnation. The recipe has been corrected for the benefit of the future!

Allegory #1
1.5 oz. Rittenhouse 100 Rye
.75 oz. Vermeer Chocolate Liqueur
.5 oz. Aperol

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake briefly and strain into an Old Fashioned glass half full of ice then top off with milk.

Allegory #2
2 oz. Bullitt Bourbon
.75 oz. Vermeer Chocolate Liqueur
.5 oz. Aperol
.25 oz. Half and Half

Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake the sweet living bejeebus out of it for ten seconds and strain into an Old Fashioned glass half full of ice. Garnish with an orange twist.

This cocktail pretty much got started on a whim when Ed spotted a bottle of Vermeer Chocolate Liqueur on the back bar. We had a taste and were quite won over. Made with Dutch chocolate, cream, and Vodka we found it to be extremely smooth with a rich, true chocolate flavor and undertones of cherry. Introducing a fruit flavor to work with the chocolate seemed like a fairly natural choice, and as I scanned the bar for what we might use I got a little bit of inspiration in going for the Aperol. I figured the mild orange flavor would work well, and the mild bitterness would actually provide a nice contrast to the chocolate.

As we were looking at this as more of a brunch drink than anything else I advocated the lengthening of the drink with milk. It also helped to spread out, but not overly dilute, the strength of all the ingredients. Ed and another Elixir regular thought the Rye was too much though. More punch in the face than they were comfortable with I suppose. I, however, was quite fond of it, and thought we had a fine drink on our hands. Then again, I'm quite a fan of the Rye so it may well be the case of a drink that was simply pandering to my particular tastes. Fortunately I'm the writer here so I get to put the recipe up anyway. Take that, uh, invisible people trying to stop me!

With one dubious drink out of the way, we set about with the tinkering. The first thing that had to go was the Rye so we could bring in our old friend Bourbon. Ed then started getting squirrelly on the milk angle. He was thinking that the milk was rather unnecessary, but I felt some sort of cream was needed to cut the richness of the chocolate and bitterness of the Aperol. We reached a happy compromise with the addition of a small amount of half and half and a short but vigorous shaking to give some volume to it.

This version is one dangerous drink I tells ya. It was very tasty, and with nary a hint of its boozy background it goes fast. The picture of the drink may make the portion look somewhat austere, but that's because I kept sucking it down - I mean, tasting for quality - before realizing I really ought to take a picture before it was gone. Which it was about 5 seconds after I snapped the photo.

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