Just add a drink and I might look cool

I should also add to the title of this post: the best cocktails… in my opinion.  But I thought it would be implicit.

After all, those who know me are very well aware that I do not really drink.  And I am sure that a simple search on the internet could bring about a much larger, well pondered and justified list of cocktails.

However, there is no need for any particular certification in compiling a list of favourite drinks and at least I can almost guarantee that if I – basically a non drinker – appreciate these two cocktails, others non drinkers may also like them; and those who drink will love them!

I should also specify this is about cocktail drinks not pure drinks. Amongst those, sake might be my favourite whilst I really do not like champagne.  I am confident this statement alone makes it clear I am no expert.

Within cocktails, a brief honourable mention for the Negroni (bittersweet) and the Fireball, especially as served in Aspen.

And now, with a roll of drums, the two best cocktail drinks in the world:

– Pisco Sour

– Bombardino (also in calimero version)

 

The Pisco Sour is very well-known drink of Peruvian origin and quite diffuse throughout South America.  It is an official IBA cocktail and therefore its composition is well codified.

The official recipe includes:

5 parts of Pisco (the base liquor); 3 parts of lemon juice; 2 parts of sugar syrup; 1 part of egg white

it is prepared by shaking these ingredients very vigorously (I do not know if in sequence or all together).  So in my view it is better prepared by ordering at a restaurant or a bar where they know how to make it.  It seems too complicated to attempt at home.  Here you can find more instructions and comments.

I like the Pisco Sour because of it sweet and sour taste.  The lemon juice makes it very refreshing and thirst quenching, the egg white on top gives it an interesting texture and the pisco I must admit even if alcoholic I really like its flavour.  It is best consumed at the end or the beginning of a lunch or dinner. Actually I am not sure when I was discovered it thank you to Otilia and Juan, every occasion seem to be appropriate to drink one.

 

The Bombardino, ah well even people from Mozambique, Bulgaria or Australia do recognise the superiority of this cocktail invented in the Italian Alps.  And now very common throughout Italian ski resorts.

There is not an agreed recipe, nor one formally approved by the IBA, but I like the simplest version which consists of one part Vov (an Italian liquor based on eggnog, similar to Advocaat I think) and one part brandy.  It is served hot with whipped cream on top.  Apparently it feels like a bomb (hence the name) when it hits the stomach.  I do not think it feels like a bomb, I think it tastes great, and if I have two I think I ski better.  If I have three I think I should not ski anymore.  The version Calimero is a great idea for the morning because it is the same plus espresso coffee.

I love the Bombardino.  I was joking earlier suggesting to drink more than one when skiing.  It is a strong drink but it does taste delicious.  I associate it with some of my happiest memories, those of skiing up in the mountains with my brother and/or close friends.

In general, I notice I connect these two cocktails with happy occasions: skiing and traveling.  I wonder whether I would like a bombardino in Sydney at home the same way I like it up in the Dolomites.  I also realise that connecting drinking to happy occasions might not be the right strategy for my wallet or my mental sanity…