Turkish Chocolate
Today’s Valentine Cocktail provides a new way to get that holiday dose of chocolate! It seems to me that Créme de Cacao has fallen in and out of favor over the years, probably hitting its heyday when Grasshoppers were most popular. It deserves, however, to be considered on a more regular basis as it can enhance all kinds of cocktails.
This particular drink is from the beautiful book, The Art of the Cocktail, by Ben Reed. The original recipe calls for rose water, which I thought fit perfectly into the Valentine’s Day theme. When I went to pull mine out of the cupboard, however, I found that I was out of it and so substituted another flower water that was on hand, Orange Flower Water. The result was still exotic and I’m anxious to try this again with the Rose Water. The hint of orange and the dusty flavor of the cocoa on the rim keep this cocktail out of the way-too-sweet category. Instead you have the essence of a rather sophisticated dessert, in a glass.
Turkish Chocolate
1 3/4 oz vodka
1/2 oz white (clear) créme de cacao
2 dashes of rose water (or orange flower water)
cocoa powder for the glassAdd all the ingredients to a shaker filled with ice, shake and strain into a frosted martini glass rimmed with cocoa powder.
Update: After purchasing a new bottle of Rose Flower Water, I made this cocktail again and it is heavenly with the Rose Flower Water!
Rose and chocolate are delicious together–I like to do rose truffles with a nice 70% dark chocolate.
This drink sounds like fun–I might have to try it sometime.