“My style is clean and boozy, but more than anything, I love getting people to try new things,” says Columbus, Ohio, bartender Annie Williams, “and I love this drink because it’s a little outside of my comfort zone.” She calls for Averna in her amaro-forward Thunder Gun Espresso cocktail for its “beautiful coffee, citrus, cinnamon and bitter chocolate notes.” Williams also loves “the complexity that amaro inherently brings to a cocktail.” Here, the familiar notes of coffee from the cold-brew and aromatic spicy chocolate bitters help make this a great “intro to amaro” cocktail.
Thunder Gun Espresso
Annie Williams | Columbus, Ohio

Ingredients
Serving: 1
- 1 1/2 ounces Averna
- 1 ounce Avua Amburana Cachaça
- 1/2 ounce amontillado sherry
- 1/2 ounce nitro cold-brew coffee
- 8 drops Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters
- Fever-Tree Tonic Water, to top
Garnish: long lemon twist
Directions
- Combine all of the ingredients except for the tonic water in a cocktail tin.
- Add one ice cube and whip-shake to quickly aerate and dilute until the ice cube is melted.
- Strain into a Collins glass over ice.
- Top with tonic water.
- Garnish with a long lemon twist.