The Lowdown
Hot Ham Sandwiches, Swedish Meatballs, Coconut Cream Bomboloni...
Welcome to The Lowdown, a Paid Subscriber exclusive featuring an expanded edition of what I’ve been drinking and eating.
This is a super-sized dispatch and will be truncated in your email inbox. Be sure to select “View Entire Message” to enjoy the whole kit and caboodle.
Please note that LAST CALL will be dark next week over the Fourth of July holiday break as we prepare for our return to celebrate our 2-Year Anniversary (!) on Tuesday, July 11.
Today’s LAST CALL dispatch is free to all readers thanks to the generous support of Doladira.
The Art of the Americano
Doladira, a modern aperitivo created by Meredith Erickson and Richard Betts, instantly evokes the crisp sensation of the Alps with its refreshing and herbaceous profile composed of rhubarb, gentian, rosemary, elderflower, plum, and pine, with an all-natural hue courtesy of black carrot and rhubarb. At 22% alcohol by volume, and 60% less sugar than most other aperitivo bitters, it’s your go-to, low-ABV option all summer long—from enjoying on the rocks, in a spritz, or countless cocktails such as a classic Negroni.
With the Fourth of July Holiday coming up, it feels like a Doladira Americano is in order. And it’s hard to write about this classic Italian aperitivo without thinking of the late Anthony Minghella’s stylish 1999 film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel,, The Talented Mr. Ripley. In particular, the scene set in San Remo where Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) and Tom Ripley (Matt Damon), hop up on the stage of a hot and smoky, neon-lit jazz club to join their friend Fausto in a singalong to “Tu Vuo Fà L'Americano,” the 1956 Neapolitan song by Renato Carosone mocking the southern Italian men trying to hard to act like Americans.
But we’re here for the Americano drink, the simple, effervescent, and oh-so sessionable highball composed of your favorite red bitter, sweet vermouth, and ice cold soda water. A direct descendant of the Milano-Torino and a predecessor to the Negroni, the Americano has firm roots in the twisty bittersweet branches of the Negroni Family Tree. Its name means "in the American way" and was likely coined for the Prohibition-era American expats in northern Italy who took to the drink in the 1920s and 1930s.
“For me, an Americano is a secret handshake for those people who know their stuff and love aperitivo,” says Doladira founder Erickson. “A Doladira & Soda is my go-to for a refreshing afternoon cocktail. Easy, breezy. But an Americano is when I’m getting serious about my evening.” If you’re looking for a New York City bar with what Erickson calls “an Italian lean” where the bartender would gladly stir up a great Doladira Americano, consider Pasquale Jones, Bar Primi, Il Buco, Torrisi, or Cipriani (all locations).
While delicious as is, you can give your Americano a summer makeover with a few fairly easy modifications. It can be as simple as swapping out the soda water with tonic water or even a quality flavored soda, something like Baladin Ginger from Italy which, despite its name, actually has a mild orange and cream soda vibe. Another inspired take is Damon Boelte’s Americano Perfecto, which trades the standard for soda water for four ounces of crisp pilsner like Peroni.
One of my favorite moves is bringing summer strawberries into the equation, especially since they have a visual and sensory affinity with a red bitter like Doladira. Simply combine a quart of washed and quartered fresh strawberries with a bottle of Doladira in a nonreactive container and allow them to infuse for 3-4 days. Then strain out the solids pour back into the empty bottle.
I also like switching up the more spice-forward sweet vermouth with a lighter bianco vermouth, whose floral, apple, and stone fruit flavor notes complement the crisp salinity of Doladira.
A more advanced method for making your own fruit-infused vermouth comes from my friend Miles Macquarrie, the Beverage Director and Partner of the acclaimed Kimball House in Decatur, Georgia. He’s been making two popular infusions he considers “essential pantry staples” every summer since they first opened their doors in 2013—a strawberry-infused Cocchi Americano and a peach-infused bianco vermouth. He goes deep into the sous vide technique he uses, and even shares the recipes, on a recent episode of VinePair’s “Cocktail College” podcast (hosted by my terrific editor and good friend, Tim McKirdy).
What are your summer Americano hacks?
Doladira Americano
Makes 1 Drink
2 ounces Doladira
1-1/2 ounces sweet vermouth
Soda water (chilled)
Garnish: orange half-wheel or orange zest
Combine the Doladira and sweet vermouth in a highball or rocks glass filled with ice. Top off with soda water. Stir and garnish the orange half-wheel or orange zest.
Find Doladira near you, and use promo code DRINKDOLADIRA to receive free shipping when you when you order from Reservebar.
Drinking
Spaghettibaldi (Caffe Dante)
Earlier this week, Italian bartender Benjamin Fabio Cavagna from Milan’s 1930 Cocktail Bar and a creator of Bitter Fusetti popped up at Caffe Dante for a one-day-only International Guest Shift sponsored by Amaretto ADRIATICO. I had met Benji back in 2017 at the 1930 Cocktail Bar (we both recalled me being seated in their posh barroom on a comically small padded foot stool) and it was a joy to reconnect with him here in New York (his first time in the Big City!) for an incredibly entertaining afternoon posted up at my usual corner seat. The room was packed with a mix of Italians, off-duty bartenders, and industry/spirits reps, who stopped by to try the trio of Benji’s featured cocktails.
His Spaghettibaldi was among the most popular of the offered drinks, and was served with a bit of a cheeky wink due to the Garibaldi’s affiliation with Dante. In Italy, the Garibaldi historically has been a simple mix of fresh orange juice and Campari, often traveling under the name “Campari & Orange.” Inspired by this tradition, Dante transformed the Garibaldi into their signature drink with its now famous “fluffy” orange juice and also serving the sunset-hued juice glass resting in a small saucer with a fat orange wedge bridging the top of the glass. Tributes (and out and out copies) of the Dante Garibaldi can be found on bar menus around the world. Benji’s Spaghettibaldi—made with Adriatico Bianco, Bitter Fusetti, Martini Ambrato, butter syrup, orange juice, and lemon juice—may have looked familiar to Dante regulars, but was an entirely different experience.
Nissen (KABIN)
Last Friday evening at a friends and family preview, I tried three drinks from the extensive lineup of cocktails designed by Pamela Wiznitzer and Eloy Pacheco for KABIN, the stylish new Nordic-inspired cocktail bar that opened this week from Alex Tangen and chef Johnny Spero. It was a hot and sticky night and I regretted not wearing shorts like all the other dudes sitting next to me along the bar. But when I finally tried the Nissen, a twist on a classic white port & tonic—upgraded with the addition of gin, aquavit, olive juice, and citrus—I felt the temperature drop with each sip.
Late-Night Jeroboam of Amaro dell’Etna (The Long Island Bar)
