“We are very lucky to have Matthew Lightner back in Oregon.” That’s the refrain I said to myself course after exquisite course at ōkta, Chef Lightner’s fine dining restaurant in McMinnville, Oregon, in the heart of Willamette Valley wine country.
12.11.2023 - 23:47 / forbes.com
You know those people who drink iced coffee all year round, no matter the temperature? Well, that's how I feel about hot chocolate. I don't need to wait for leaves to start falling—or for snow to to top the roofs of New York—before I begin melting squares of Portugal’s Vinte Vinte chocolate in the morning. (Or whenever I damn well please.)
And I'm fairly flexible when it comes to garnishes: mini marshmallows, cinnamon sticks, star anise—I like it all. But not as much as I love to spike what’s in my my mug. I'm not even particularly stringent about how to top off my hot chocolate. Rum, bourbon, mezcal? Works for me. Because the thing is, nearly every spirit works quite well with a rich, well-made hot cocoa—with each lending the drink different notes and characteristics.
When I’m looking to make a heat-forward blend I almost always use an agave-based liquor like mezcal, which tends to highlight the presence of chile. When it’s robust sweetness I’m in the mood for, I reach for OM chocolate liqueur or Cointreau or a cream liqueur such as Marigot Bay chocolate coffee rum cream or Five Farms Irish cream. And for added complexity in a dark hot chocolate, I typically add toasted baking spices—plus a small splash of spiced rum or Cognac.
But there’s really no right (or wrong) way to do it. In my experience, bold and frequent experimentation is the key to finding your ideal hot chocolate recipe. So here are nine tried-and-true concoctions from a number of highly regarded spirits pros, from Widow Jane head distiller Sienna Jevremov to Canerock master blender Alexandre Gabriel to Diplomatico maestro roñero Nelson Hernandez—and more. Whether you follow the recipes to the T or alter them to you liking as you see fit, you’re guaranteed to have one helluva cup—or three.
“I really appreciate a drink that builds on the flavors already inherent in the spirit. When blending Widow Jane 10-Year-Old Bourbon, I strive for bright cherry on the nose, followed by spiced maple on the palate that flows into a lovely, creamy, dark chocolate finish—all of which you can see mirrored in this cocktail.” —Sienna Jevremov, head distiller at Widow Jane Distillery
Ingredients (6 servings)
3 oz. Widow Jane 10-Year-Old Bourbon
5 oz. cherry hot chocolate*
1 quart water
⅔cup cherry purée (Boiron Morello or homemade from a sour-and-sweet mix, blended until smooth)
2 bars high-quality 92–100% chocolate
4 strips orange peel
2 tsp. sumac
2 tsp. whole cloves
1 tsp. black peppercorns
4 cinnamon stick (lightly charred with torch or on gas stove)
1 pinch salt
2 oz. red wine and cherry syrup**
½ cup red wine (full bodied and rich)
½ cup cherry purée (Boiron or homemade from fresh or frozen, pitted)
¾ dark maple syrup
3 oz. salted whipped cream ***
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“We are very lucky to have Matthew Lightner back in Oregon.” That’s the refrain I said to myself course after exquisite course at ōkta, Chef Lightner’s fine dining restaurant in McMinnville, Oregon, in the heart of Willamette Valley wine country.
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Hotel bars have had a bit of a patchy reputation in the last few decades, often with drab, soulless decor and an uninspired clientele. But recently, they’ve come into a category of their own as somewhere you would choose to spend your night, even if you’re not a guest. They employ pioneering bar professionals who create avant-garde drinks menus and have brought much-needed pizzazz back into the surroundings. Here are four hotel bars in Europe you’ll want to have on your radar for your next visit.
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