January Drink of the Month - The Holy Toledo

Tapastrie's Dining Room

Well, the holidays sure went fast, didn't they? To my three loyal readers (you know who you are), I apologize for missing out on a month of blogging. Holiday travel (and helping Ann move in to our new home) made bar blogging a chore last month. But I am excited to share with you this month's new drink! I was inspired this month after visiting a new tapas restaurant that recently opened downtown (that's right, South Bend has tapas. We are pretty much the cultural capital of the world now). The new joint is named Tapastrie (wow, that's a bad pun) and is operated by the same folks who own and operate my favorite Irish bar (Fiddler's Heart). They serve awesome Mediterranean-inspired food (I had merguez - or spicy lamb sausage - for the first time, and wow!) and have a huge wine selection, complete with a fun sampling machine. But they also have a small cocktail menu, including some original offerings. While I would never order their Pisco Sour again (watery and not very sour), they did have one offering that piqued my interest: the "Holy Toledo."

Saint Elizabeth's
Allspice Dram

I have not yet had a chance to revisit the bar and pick the bartender's brain for the recipe, but the menu lists the ingredients of the Holy Toledo as such: brandy, allspice dram, apricot, cardamom bitters. Brandy is my absolute favorite cocktail base, so  I ordered one up - and it was lovely! There were wonderful warming spice notes that blended well with the brandy to make an excellent winter drink! Ann even liked it, since it "tasted like Christmas" (which is always a win for her). Since I still had my Rothman and Winter Orchard Apricot liqueur out from November, I decided that it would be a good idea to try this one at home. I went out and purchased some Saint Elizabeth Allspice Dram (note: you can make this on your own fairly easily, but I wanted to try to make the drink for myself before investing the time and effort into making my own dram - if you would like a DIY recipe, there is a great one here) . This was the key ingredient, the one that makes the drink smell "of Christmas." While I was fresh out of cardamom bitters, I substituted regular old Peychaud's bitters and didn't miss much. Here is the recipe I was able to tinker together:

In a mixing glass, combine the following:
1.5-2 oz brandy (VS or better)*
0.25 oz Saint Elizabeth Allspice Dram
0.5 oz Rothman and Winter Orchard Apricot
2 dashes Peychaud's Bitters

Shake over ice for at least 15 seconds. This is a drink that benefits from dilution, especially if you are using lesser brandy. Pour into a rocks glass half-filled with crushed ice and serve. Garnish with a brandied cherry if desired.

*I liked my drink heavier on the brandy side, but do this to taste. Less brandy means the other flavors shine through more.

I hope you enjoy your Holy Toledo!