Drink Piece: The Coronation

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I’ve a diverse palate when it comes to booze—beer, cocktails, wine, I drink it all—and when a particular spirit tickles me in just the right way, I need to jot down a little Drink Piece.

Light, semi-sweet, wish I was drinking one right now

The draft for this one had been sitting for so long in my to-publish folder, this piece originally started by me mentioning something about a month-long staycation coming to an end, which means I attempted to first write this around last September. Anyway, this is a cocktail that can be consumed in the miserably humid waning days of summer, or during the whiplash-inducing, warm-then-freezing winter weather we’re having right now.

Meet, the Coronation.

This was a totally random selection out of my beloved copy of the compendium, The Essential New York Times Book of Cocktails, when I first tried it out last year. Any curious at-home mixologist should have this book. It’s no fun only coming across different concoctions online all the time, and the guide is a really fun and informative read as well, not just lists of recipes. I highly recommend getting a copy to keep next to your bar.

This drink comes out of the “New School” chapter, a section devoted to more out-there, adventurous, and non-traditional drinks. The kind of stuff your average ‘tender isn’t going to have in their arsenal unless they’re working at the bar famous for concocting them in the first place or something like that, which might be the case if you ever run into Joaquín Simó, co-founder of Pouring Ribbons, the now-shuttered East Village cocktail lounge, whose recipe the guide adapts.

Anyway, the Coronation is really simple:

1 1/2 oz. fino sherry (the Times guide recommends using Lustau’s Puerto Fino, but I’ve also gotten by with Tio Pepe)

1 1/2 oz. dry vermouth (they recommend Dolin and I agree, you gotta do it, Dolin rules!)

1 teaspoon Luxardo cherry liqueur (don’t go off the beaten path here, make sure you’re getting the legit Luxardo and not another cherry liqueur. Luxardo has a very distinct flavor and you want that to carry over into the Coronation!)

1 teaspoon simple syrup (if you don’t have a batch of this made, real quick sort that out before getting into making the cocktail)

2 dashes orange bitters (lately for my orange bitters fix I’ve been going to Bittermens Orange Cream Citrate for three reasons: 1) the bottle is that incredible blue glass, 2) it tastes good, and 3) it makes me think of this great bit from The Simpsons)

And the finally, you’re just gonna need a little twist of lemon on top for garnish.

Putting it together is way easy: take a mixing glass, pour everything in but that twist, and give it a good, long, gentle stir. Strain into your glass, top it off with the lemon twist, and you are good to go. It’s important to resist the urge to shake your mix. I get it, it’s fun as all get out, and we all want to be Brian and Doug behind the bar, but you really don’t wanna rock that sherry. You won’t get foamy bubbles like when you shake bourbon, but it’s just not great for the drink. So whip out your cocktail spoons and get stirring!

This is a really easy drink to make, and while I haven’t tried pairing it with any food, it’s a nice drink to have in your arsenal when company comes over: you can serve them a slightly sweet, not too boozy, super-tasty drink with a pretentious name that they’ve almost certainly never heard of before!