In our pursuit of trying all of the cocktails listed in Ted Haigh’s Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, our next drink is the Amarosa. No, it has nothing to do with the young woman from The Apprentice reality series! We are talking VINTAGE here, although those episodes seem like a lifetime ago to me.
The Amarosa Cocktail is a simple cocktail to prepare with only three ingredients: gin, kirschwasser, and Cora Bitters. Simple enough, right? Well, not so much. The ingredient list comes with one difficult to find ingredient –Cora Bitters. Since they are not made any longer, Amaro Cora is suggested as the appropriate substitute.
The problem is, more for me than for most perhaps, is that Amaro Cora isn’t just sitting around on the liquor store shelf. I found it following Doc Cocktail’s suggestion. You’ll find it in the book. The cost of this rare ingredient is on the cheap side, so this drink won’t leave you broke. Even if it did, though, it is well worth the time and investment. I’ve never had anything like it.
The cherry flavor of the kirshwasser plays with the spicy notes of the Amaro Cora just right, with gin very very subtly acting as a canvas in the background. With little lemon spiral over the drink, dropped right in, it is tremendous. I found this drink to be great when introducing someone to using potable bitters in cocktails. There is enough of bitter deliciousness there without turning them away forever and enough sweetness there to keep them coming back for another sip.
The Amarosa Cocktail
- 3/4 oz gin (I used Plymouth)
- 3/4 oz kirshwasser (Hiram Walker)
- 3/4 oz Amaro Cora
- Stir with lots of cracked ice
- Garnish with a lemon spiral
