11 Dec 12 Drinks of Christmas: Bonal Martini
12 Drinks of Christmas: Bonal Martini
For the 5th day of Christmas, my true love served to me … a Bonal Martini. It’s the 5th of our 12 ideas for how to make your holiday parties and nights by the fire merry and bright.
Sometimes, you just want a simple martini. But even dedicated drinkers of the martini might want to get into the holiday mood. That’s what today’s drink is for. It’s the eggnog latte of cocktails: no pralines, no crushed candy canes, certainly not any whipped cream, but nonetheless a nod to the special season.
We accomplish this by swapping vermouth for its close cousin Bonal, the beautiful bottle I couldn’t resist bringing home a while ago.
Bonal has the mellow sweetness of a red vermouth, but it’s more fruity, more spicy, and has slight hints of licorice. It’s richer, warmer, and spicier than dry vermouth. It’s not better necessarily, but maybe you could say it’s more suited to a cold winter night.
The Bonal Martini also works remarkably well reversed. That means that with a mere two bottles of liquor you can satisfy your martini-loving friends while also serving a legitimately complex and interesting cocktail to your more light-drinking ones.
Ingredients
- 2 oz gin–it’s worth bringing out the good stuff, at least Tanqueray or Bombay Sapphire, but even something more special if you have it.
- .5 oz Bonal
- orange twist (for garnish)
Notes
To make it a Reversed Bonal Martini, switch the amounts of gin and Bonal. Your non-cocktail friends will love it, and so will your cocktail loving ones.
Instructions
- Add Bonal and gin to a mixing glass and stir with ice.
- Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with the orange twist.
