During these unprecedented times, when staying at home is of the utmost importance, us here at The AU Review are going to be doing everything we can to help readers live their best lives, indoors.
As with many other media companies who typically focus on getting folks out and about, we’re shifting to adapt to the necessary lock-downs taking place all over the world. One way we’ll be doing so is simply by sharing our favourite recipes.
Over the next few weeks (or months, who knows) we’ll be publishing the cocktail and food recipes that we find most exciting, so that when you aren’t ordering in to support your favourite venues, you’ll know enough to quickly throw together some top-class concoctions.
Picon Punch from Winnemucca, Nevada
Winnemucca, Nevada in the state’s north is famous for its Basque culture as thousands of immigrants from the Basque country (straddling France and Spain) immigrated to this part of the US in the early 1800s. One of the traditions of this culture is the Picon Punch. Now well know as the great Basque Cocktail of the American West and honorary State drink of Nevada.
The Picon Punch cocktail is a rite of passage for newcomers to the state. For the uninitiated, the easy-to-make cocktail is a Basque-American crink made of grenadine, a strong bitter orange liqueur and club soda stirred together with cheap brandy and a lemon peel added to the top. At Louis Basque Corner in Reno, Nevada, you’ll find a traditional Picon Punch just as it’s been enjoyed for decades—with a stiff pour of the orangey Torani Amer (a citrusy aperitif made in the style of France’s Amer Picon) and the slightest bit of grenadine and soda to lighten it up. Lucky for you, we’ve sourced the recipe so you can get that true taste of Nevada without leaving the house.
Note that you should ideally have a tulip glass for this cocktail.
Ingredients
- 7g grenadine (1/4oz)
- 56g Torani Amer (2oz)
- 42g soda water (1.5oz)
- 42g brandy (1.5oz)
- Lemon twist, for garnish
Method
- In a tulip glass filled with ice, drizzle the grenadine on top. Add the Torani Amer and soda water; stir briefly to combine. Carefully pour the brandy on top as a “floater,” garnish with a lemon twist, and serve immediately.
You can get Grenadine from BWS HERE. If you can’t find any Torani Amer, just use Picon Amer as a substiute, which can be found at Nicks Wine Merchants HERE.
Image: Travel Nevada
