Another Almost Port & Tonic
February's Cocktail of the Month
The Cocktail - Cook’s Companion
Back in the old days of the blog, my most popular post sourced from Google traffic was “French Onion Cocktail - What to Make when Cooking with Vermouth.” I got the sense that folks often only opened vermouth to cook with, and that cooking would often be French onion soup, and they’d want to make a cocktail at the same time. Based on the search hits, I was right. And since I had you buy a vermouth-like fortified wine last month, I wanted to bring this back.
But since I’ve written about vermouth so much, I wanted to switch it up this time. Another name for this post could be “Cake and Cocktails - What to Drink when Making Madeira Cake.” The drink starts quite sweet, but that gives way to a strong grape character with some deep bitter herb backbone and finishes surprisingly dry. It’s kind of like an elevated grape soda in a weird way, and it would indeed be a welcome sipper when tending to a cake in the oven.
What You Have - Soda
This is easy. We have another bubbly drink, use your favorite soda. If you liked what you used in the Snowball, use that here too. More bubbles are better. What you make this month is more fun, don’t worry.
What to Buy - Madeira
This is the broadest possible overview - if you think that means a Deep Dive later this month, you’re correct.
Madeira is a lot like Port. Actually, no it’s not. BUT, it’s more similar to Port than about anything else. For starters, it’s also Portuguese (technically), though this stuff is from the Madeira Islands very far from the mainland. They’re both fortified wines with a long regional history. They both vary dramatically depending on the age and style. They often share a brand. And that’s about it.
Madeira is most interesting in its intentional oxidization; no need to refrigerate after opening, any decent bottle will last years unchanged so long as you replace the cork. That gives it a unique taste that’s consistent across every bottle I’ve had that almost tastes like the herbs were burnt when they were added. I mean that in a good way. It’s not like any other apertif you have in your cabinet, though you’ll certainly still get a strong grape character and the expected herb bouquet.
For this cocktail, I’m using Sandeman’s widely available “fine rich” expression that’s been aged minimally and is not quite as sweet as some I’ve had. It’s widely available in wine shops for ~$20. Whatever you do, make sure you don’t buy from the cooking wine section; added salt and pepper won’t work in cocktails…
What to Make - Bonal Syrup
With last month’s almost-tonic quality, I wanted to amp that up in February. So, I made a syrup with Bonal. To be fair, this isn’t technically a syrup but rather a reduction. I reduced 6 ounces of Bonal down to 2 over low heat in a small sauce pan, which took about an hour. But, it’s sweet and thick enough that it acts like a syrup and that’s easier to say and write, so let’s stick with syrup.
The gentian character almost disappears here, giving way to intense quinine bitterness and concentrated sugar. It’s not too different from a tonic syrup you can buy in a liquor store, though it’s much less sweet overall. That’s what makes it work with Madeira - the combined sweetness is about right but a true syrup would be cloying.
This is something I want to try more of to get aperitif flavors incorporated into drinks without the usual volume required, and Bonal is a great first test.
The Recipe
Once again, couldn’t be simpler to make. Just add the ingredients to a glass with ice and stir to combine.
0.5 oz Bonal Syrup
2.5 oz Maderia
3 oz Soda