When the folks at Fabrizia Spirits reached out to me to try their products and come up with some recipes, I was very excited! I received 2 limoncellos, one cream-based and one regular, and a blood orange liqueur that I decided to focus on first. As soon as I opened the bottle I could smell the delicate, yet distinctive, blood orange aroma that carried right through to the spirit’s flavor without being overly sweet at all. It would work beautifully on its own served chilled, in a spritzer with prosecco and club soda, or as a replacement for Cointreau in a Cosmopolitan. My first inclination when creating today’s cocktail was to go with a lighter base spirit like gin or vodka, but I quickly changed my mind when I considered how much I love the combination of blood oranges and darker spirits. I didn’t want to go too dark, however, because the Fabrizia has such a subtle flavor that could easily be overpowered. As an alternative I decided on Laird’s Applejack, which provides all the warm flavors of a bourbon without quite as much of a bite, along with a very distinct apple flavor. Since the Fabrizia is on the sweeter side, I knew I needed to add a bitter component to the drink and an Amaro seemed like the perfect direction to go in. I chose the Amaro Nonino because it has such strong bittersweet orange flavors, along with some floral notes that were a perfect match for the Fabrizia. To echo these floral notes and introduce an herbal element, I reached for Dolin Genepy, whose flavor profile falls right in between the sweet warmth of yellow Chartreuse, and the sharper botanicals of green Chartreuse. Finally, I seem to always need to add in some bitters when I have a number of very different ingredients going into a cocktail. It’s the last touch for me that brings everything together, and I’ve discovered that DRAM Apothecary bitters work better for me than any other, as you all well know by now! After trying several of them, I landed on their Palo Santo flavor for this drink. It had just enough spice to complement the Nonino and the Genepy, along with vanilla and woodsmoke to highlight the Applejack. I called this cocktail The Sanguine Impostor because it could pose as just about any other drink in terms of its looks, but is unmistakably blood orange the minute you taste it!

The Sanguine Impostor

1½ oz Laird’s Applejack
1 oz Amaro Nonino
1 oz Fabrizia Blood Orange liqueur
½ oz Dolin Genepy des Alpes
2 dashes DRAM Apothecary Palo Santo bitters (or your favorite aromatic bitters)

Add all the ingredients to a mixing glass. Fill ⅔ full with ice and stir 30 seconds or until well chilled. Strain into an old-fashioned glass over 1 large cube. Garnish with a blood orange twist. Enjoy!

Fabrizia Spirits are available online and from a number of local retailers. There is a “Where to Buy” tab on their website that will provide you with more details.