This is Not a Cabernet Sauvignon
If it looks like a Cab, smells like Cab and tastes like a Cab, what could it be? Maybe this mix of whiskey, cassis and rooibos tea meant to fool the senses.
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Courtesy of Columbia Room, Washington, DC
Created for fans of Manhattans, this ode to the grippy red grape gets color, tannin and a shrubby quality from rooibos tea. Its signature blackcurrant notes come courtesy of crème de cassis.
Ingredients
- 1½ ounces Bernheim Straight Wheat Whiskey
- ½ ounce Marie Duffau Napoleon Armagnac
- ¼ ounce Langlois Crème de Mûre
- ¼ ounce Langlois Crème de Cassis
- ½ ounce rooibos tea (see below)
- 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Directions
Add all ingredients to a mixing glass. Add ice, and stir until chilled. Strain into a wine glass. (To make a larger batch, add 1 ounce filtered water per serving, and refrigerate without stirring.)
For the Rooibos Tea
Add 2 teaspoons loose rooibos tea leaves to 16 ounces hot water. Steep 8 minutes, strain out solids and cool.
Kelly Magyarics is a wine and spirits writer, and wine educator, in the Washington, D.C., area. She can be reached through her website, www.kellymagyarics.com.