Part of a collection of recipes I’m calling My Purple Passion

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I had been knocking around in my head the idea for this cocktail ever since I made the Cherry Brandy Brownie. There was something so heady about the combination of cherry and chocolate that sent me off in search of a cocktail that would make the most of those flavours in a truly adult way.

If you’ve ever read my Tea with Granny series of blog posts, you’ll know that Black Forest Gateaux holds a very dear and special place in my heart. I also created for you one of the best cake recipes I’ve ever concocted as a ridiculously sumptuous version of an old classic. Check out those posts HERE and HERE. So, in a way, this cocktail is like a Black Forest Gateaux but in a drinkable form and oh so adulty!

What took me so long in getting round to making it was trying to figure out how, in the middle of a pandemic, could I get my hands on a Chocolate Bitter. In the end I decided to make my own using just three ingredients and one patient week of waiting. The good news though is that, like with all bitters, you only need a little to go a long way, so you’ll have enough for 6 cocktails with what you make here.

Equipment wise, you’ll need a cocktail shaker – my current one is plastic and broken so you know, whatever works…even a clean jam jar with a tight fitting lid would work. Something to accurately measure your measures with, lots and lot of ice and a fancy pants glass to drink from. Simples.

Ingredients: Makes 1 Cocktail

For the Homemade Chocolate Bitters

• 1 tbsp of roasted cocoa nibs
• 1 tbsp of cocoa husks (also known as Cocoa Husk Tea)
• Enough Irish whiskey to cover fully – about 150 ml
• Both the Nibs and Husks can be purchased from Exploding Tree

For the Cocktail

• 50 ml Irish Whiskey (I used West Cork Distillers 10 year old)
• 75 ml Kinsale Mead ‘Wild Red Mead’ (flavoured with cherries and blackcurrants)
• 125 ml tart organic cherry juice (e.g. Biona)
• 1 tsp of Homemade Chocolate Bitters
• 1 egg white
• Ice

Method:

For the Homemade Chocolate Bitters

• Place all into a sterilised glass jar with a tight fitting lid, shake and store in a cool, dark place for a week.
• Strain the liquid from the solids using a tea strainer or a piece of muslin cloth.
• Store in a sterilised jar or bottle.

For the Cocktail

• Add all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker, fill with ice and shake vigorously for 30 seconds or until a thin sheen of ice appears on the outside of your cocktail shaker.
• Pour into a martini glass and garnish with some more roasted cocoa nibs.

Cheers!