Cocktails

Mandorla Sour, Polpetto

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on March 9 2014 at 08:13

It’s been a while since there’s been a new craze in the cocktail world but I’m betting the Mandorla Sour will catch on.

First of all it’s on the menu at the impossibly hip Polpetto* and second it’s got that irresistible balance of sweet and sharp exactly right.

Turns out It’s been out there for a while, promoted by Nardini the producer of Mandorla, a deliciously natural tasting almond liqueur. According to their website it's made from an infusion of bitter almond with Aquavit di Vinaccia combined with a cherry distillate - so a sort of almond- and cherry-flavoured grappa.

The recipe here is pale though: as you can see from my appallingly blurry photo, Polpetto’s is tutti-frutti pink due, I’m guessing, to the amarena cherries they're using - another on-trend ingredient we’re going to have to get familiar with. (They’re small sour cherries from Bologna and Modena which are bottled in syrup and more commonly used in desserts or baking)

At around £36 a bottle - Mandorla’s not cheap but it is a walloping 50% ABV so you shouldn’t have to use much of it. Just the perfect drink for this unseasonably spring-like weather.

*And also at Cafe Murano who use Visciolata del Cardinale, a cherry-flavoured dessert wine

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