Autumn Sweater

Adapted from Bitters by Brad Thomas Parsons

photo: Ed Anderson

The bittersweet lyrics of “Autumn Sweater,” from Yo La Tengo’s 1997, I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One, serve as the source material for this melancholy change-of-season shoegazer. Serve it over a large block of ice, or over an ice sphere—even better to evoke a fat harvest moon hanging in the nighttime sky.

Made in Sicily since 1868, Averna is a syrupy, bitter herbal liqueur. It isn’t overpowering, though, and is a great gateway amaro if you’re interested in exploring potable bitters. Amaro Nonino is another mild Italian digestif whose caramel color and warm, spicy burnt orange notes round out the full fall flavors here. Wrap yourself in an Autumn Sweater and embrace what the season has in store for you.

Reprinted with permission from Bitters by Brad Thomas Parsons, copyright © 2011. Photos by Ed Anderson © 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.

Ingredients

Serving: 1

  • 1 ounce rye
  • 1 ounce rye
  • 1/2 ounce Averna
  • 1/2 ounce Averna
  • 1/2 ounce Amaro Nonino
  • 1/2 ounce Amaro Nonino
  • 1/2 ounce maple syrup
  • 1/2 ounce maple syrup
  • 1 dash maple bitters (Urban Moonshine)
  • 1 dash maple bitters (Urban Moonshine)
  • 1 dash orange bitters
  • 1 dash orange bitters

Garnish: thick clove-studded strip of orange zest

Directions
  1. Combine all the ingredients except the garnish in a mixing glass filled with ice and stir until chilled.
  2. Add a large sphere of ice to a chilled rocks glass and strain the drink into the glass.
  3. For the garnish, use a paring knife to slice a thick strip of zest from an orange.
  4. Twist it over the drink to release the essential oils and rub along the rim of the glass.
  5. Stud the orange zest with two whole cloves and drape it over the ice sphere.

Tagged: amaro, Amaro Nonino, Averna, bitters, Brad Thomas Parsons, maple syrup, rye, whiskey, whiskey hub, Yo La Tengo

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