Cocoa Old Fashioned
I was given a small (yes, there is judgement in the amount I was given 😊) sample of Mexican Mole Bitters from a dear friend to see what I could do with them. My friend uses them in baking; but I wasn’t interested in that. The brownies were delicious, but the bitters screamed for an Old Fashioned with a Melanin TwistTM.
Now if tried some of my other cocktails, you know I tend to be a fussy, multistep cocktail maker. I wanted to try a three ingredient Old Fashioned with the bitters. It was ok. But I felt like it was missing something. Full disclosure – my tasters loved it. I wanted more chocolate flavor either on the nose or the mouth.
I’m not sure what led me to infuse the bourbon with cocoa nibs; but I did. And, uh, hello – that did the trick. I soaked the nibs in bourbon for about 5 days and had the gang over again to try the Cocoa Old Fashioned. WINNER.
The first version I used Basil Hayden, which is one of my favorite bourbons. The 80-proof bourbon allowed the cocoa nibs flavor to come forward and the Mexican Mole Bitters were a great compliment. I then made the cocktail with Woodford Reserve which I typically use when making cocktails. At a slightly higher proof, 90, it amped it up in a good way. The higher proof tempered the cocoa nibs so that it was a layer within a complex sip. Thinking I was on a roll, my third version I used a bourbon with 114-proof. It was too much. The bigger bourbon overpowered the cocoa nibs. We just tasted the bourbon, the bitters, but the cocoa nibs were lost. By this point, we were three drinks in, with limited food in our stomachs and feeling no pain! The Woodford Reserve was by far the best. We were able to pick up chocolate, cinnamon, and some heat; though that was mild.
It was a deliciously tipsy night.
Cheers,
~Kimberly Elise
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