http://thespiritworld.net/2007/03/26/benedictine-and-the-derby-cocktail/ Quenching your thirst with sips, nips and tipples. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:07:30 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4 http://thespiritworld.net/2007/03/26/benedictine-and-the-derby-cocktail/#comment-46260 Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:12:38 +0000 http://thespiritworld.net/2007/03/26/benedictine-and-the-derby-cocktail/#comment-46260 [...] Mr. Mackay has written about his experience creating the Carmen Amaya at some length, and I won’t try to improve on that. I will note that the drink itself is a multifaceted wonder, a rival to even the most inspired and enticing creations I’ve encountered in the City. The rye holds hands with its old pal Cointreau, and goes skipping across your tongue as in a Frisco, or even the early stages of an Algonquin. The amontillado, meanwhile, lurks around the corner, a diversion not so much bracing (like the Frisco’s herbaceous Bénédictine) as rounded, and enticingly smoky. Remarkably, the fresh basil enhances the whole experience, stinging your nose first and the tip of your tongue last, and adding a sweet floral undertone to all the flavors in between. Neither bitter nor jarring, the Carmen Amaya wouldn’t bookend a perfect night’s tippling, but it’s complex, intelligent, and damned satisfying during those long, dreary mid-evening hours. [...] […] Mr. Mackay has written about his experience creating the Carmen Amaya at some length, and I won’t try to improve on that. I will note that the drink itself is a multifaceted wonder, a rival to even the most inspired and enticing creations I’ve encountered in the City. The rye holds hands with its old pal Cointreau, and goes skipping across your tongue as in a Frisco, or even the early stages of an Algonquin. The amontillado, meanwhile, lurks around the corner, a diversion not so much bracing (like the Frisco’s herbaceous Bénédictine) as rounded, and enticingly smoky. Remarkably, the fresh basil enhances the whole experience, stinging your nose first and the tip of your tongue last, and adding a sweet floral undertone to all the flavors in between. Neither bitter nor jarring, the Carmen Amaya wouldn’t bookend a perfect night’s tippling, but it’s complex, intelligent, and damned satisfying during those long, dreary mid-evening hours. […]

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