Quick Sip - Cheers-ing the GOAT with the Argentina
Celebrate a world-class performance and make another dent in that bottle of Benedictine
I’ve watched every game of the World Cup this year. It’s been the absolute highlight of being (temporarily…hopefully…) unemployed for the last month. And while it’s hard to ignore the corruption and horrendous conditions that allowed this tournament to happen, the on-field product has been amazing.
Coming in, I wanted 3 things:
The US to reach the knockout stage
South Korea to reach the knockout stage (Sonny is my favorite footballer by a mile)
Messi to get the monkey off his back and put the GOAT debate to bed once and for all
1 and 2 were resounding successes (though I was hopeful one of them would somehow get a knockout win), and if this doesn’t settle 3 I don’t know what will:
I’ve often made drinks to celebrate big sporting moments (like the Lillywhite below before my beloved Spurs put up the most anemic Champions League Final performance imaginable), and this felt like a moment to do the same.
And while Fernet con Coca is both delicious and the undisputed national cocktail of Argentina, there’s a lesser-known cocktail that will make an excellent toast to the GOAT tonight and help you work through that bottle of Benedictine you picked up this month.
The Argentina Cocktail
I cannot, despite my years of practice at this, figure out where this cocktail came from or why it’s named the Argentina. The only true information I can find comes from a brand site (ugh) stating that it was first made in 1934. So…it’s old. That’s the extent of what I could learn about it.
1 oz Gin
1 oz Dry Vermouth
0.25 oz Orange Liqueur
0.25 oz Benedictine
1 dash Orange Bitters
1 dash Angostura Bitters
It’s also delicious. It’s a sweet martini that really does have a holiday spice flair from the vermouth and liqueurs, so it’s also appropriate for this strange winter World Cup. It won’t highlight the Benedictine like the other drinks I’ve written about, but it wouldn’t work without it either.
Anyway: Cheers, Leo. What a performance. Now get it done on Sunday.