This bittersweet gin, juice, and aperitif elixir is sure to warm you up while you battle any snowstorm or if you just want to snazz up brunch!

It’s back to the complexity this week with the aperitif wine, Lillet Blanc, orange bitters, and a fancier cherry. Don’t worry though folks, these ingredients will pay back in spades with upcoming cocktails, recipes, and suggestions from yours truly!

1.5 oz gin
.75 oz Lillet Blanc
.75 oz freshly squeezed orange juice (cut a nice navel in half & juice it!)
2 dashes orange bitters
Tools: shot measure, cocktail shaker/strainer, garnish stick
Glass: coupe (pictured above) or a cocktail glass
Garnish: Bada Bing cherry (fancier than a maraschino; natural ingredients & no preservatives)

Drop 3 ice cubes into your shaker. Pour all the ingredients except the cherry over the ice. Shake it like you mean it, until the shaker is chilly to the touch. Pour through your shaker’s strainer into a coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

Tip on the Bada Bings: We have found these delicious cherries at Whole Foods Market and local speciality foods stores. They are less expensive vs. Luxardo’s and they still do the trick. We even add these cherries, with a splash of the cherry juice, to simpler club soda & vodka mixed drinks – it really enhances the flavor!

Background on the Abbey Cocktail:
This is a variation on the classic made famous by The Savoy Cocktail Book (Harry Craddock; 1930). Brad Thomas Parsons, author of Bitters (2011), marries Lillet Blanc and orange bitters from Dale DeDroff’s recipe found in The Craft of the Cocktail (2002). Parsons is spot-on in that the bittersweet orange flavor of the Lillet compliments the freshly squeezed OJ and the orange bitters.

Good luck with any snow that might come, stay safe, and as always… enjoy responsibly folks!

-The Sweet and Sweaty