Bourbon, Chocolate, and Pecans - Oh My!
Featured Story
This Old Fashioned came from a delicious chocolate pecan pie enjoyed over Thanksgiving via NY Times food reporter and columnist Melissa Clark. She called for bittersweet chocolate and Bourbon in the recipe, lending it a grown-up finish that the standard pecan pie desperately needs, and it obviously called out for a cocktail counterpart. Enter the Chocolate Pecan Pie Old Fashioned.
The chocolate component was obvious. A limited edition and locally connected bottling that was recently released: the T’Maro Cacao Nib Liqueur. It uses single origin cacao nibs from Dandelion Chocolate here in San Francisco, and is sweetened with nothing but dates from the Coachella Valley. It has flavors of roasted chocolate, tobacco, and Cognac. It’s hands-down our new favorite chocolate liqueur (although it won't be around forever).
For our base spirit in this Old Fashioned, we wanted a classic bourbon. The Old Forester 100 proof quickly came to mind for its dark chocolate, pie crust and baking spice flavors. It’s also bottled at 100 proof, which is the sweet spot for a perfectly diluted Old Fashioned.
Finally, Miracle Mile’s Toasted Pecan Bitters tie together this holiday treat of a cocktail. Not only does it have the beautifully nutty flavor of toasted pecan, but it also has other warm baking spices like cinnamon, clove and vanilla. Then it is lightly sweetened with pure cane syrup and molasses.
Our recipe makes a slightly less sweet Old Fashioned - if you like it a bit sweeter, theres a good chance you have some Liber Demerara Syrup sitting around from previous Old Fashioneds, and it could be used to great enriching effect here. But the bittersweet chocolate and toasty pecan flavor make a rich and satisfying drink, if less sweet, to warm you up for your holiday season. We hope you enjoy our last selection of the year! Cheers and Happy Holidays!
