On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me this Partridge in A Cherry Tree cocktail! Or at least I hope he does! This cheery winter sipper is cherry forward, flecked with chocolate given way to bright notes from citrus oil and the sweet-bitter Italicus bergamot liqueur finish its all off.
This year I got to visit both Luxardo in Italy and Empress Gin in Victoria, Canada (with in a couple days of each other!) I knew wanted to whip up a cocktail that highlighted both of their products and this Partridge in a Cherry Tree was the perfect libation to do so with Empress Gin mixed with Luxardo Maraschino liqueur and garnished with their iconic cherries.
EMPRESS GIN
Empress Gin is made in Victoria at Victoria Distillers. Teaming up with the local historic Fairmont Empress Hotel, they used their proprietary tea blend from their famous high-tea. Infused with butterfly pea flower, it inspired the widely recognizable blue hue of the gin. When mixed with ingredients like citrus acid that adjusts the PH, Empress Gin changes from a vibrant blue to a stunning purple.
LUXARDO
Luxardo Maraschino liqueur and cherries are made under the attentive eye of Mateo Luxardo. While visiting, he gave us a personal tour of the distillery and faculties in Padua that has been in his family for generations. The liqueur, am infusion of fresh Maraschino cherries, branches, and leaves sit for 3 years. It’s then distilled in copper pot stills before being matured in ash-wood vats before being bottled. The chocolatey, citrus flavors of the liqueur along with the distinct cherry flavor dance perfectly with the cacao and bergamot notes in the other liqueurs as well as the tea and juniper in Empress. They all come together for a perfect, purple sip in this Partridge In A Cherry Tree.
Partridge In A Cherry Tree cocktail
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink 1x
- Category: cocktail
Description
A gin Old Fashioned with notes of chocolate, cherry, and citrus.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 oz Empress 1908 Gin
- 1/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
- 1/4 oz Creme de Cacao, I used Tempus Fugit
- 1/4 oz Italicus bergamot liqueur
- 1 dash orange biters
- garnish: lemon peel & orange peel, juniper branch, Luxardo Cherry skewered on a juniper or evergreen branch
Instructions
In a mixing glass with ice, stir all ingredients. Strain into a rocks glass with a large cube of ice. express lemon peel and orange over the glass. Discard citrus. Garnish with Luxardo cherry skewered with a branch.
1 Comment
The beautiful bottles lined up to make this cocktail … were breathtakingly gorgeous! It used some of my favourite ingredients & I was so excited to make it! ESP the Empress & Italicus Bergamot. However, with one base spirit & 3 sweet modifiers, this was too sickly sweet for my palette. If I’d purchased all the ingredients & garnishes at once, the cost is Approx $180. It’s expensive. Great idea, but altogether did not work for me personally.