This beguiling number comes from Mark Buettler of Dressler in South Williamsburg, who will be our inaugural Bartender Of The Month for October, or, if you care to go there, Marktober. Mark had been talking about wanting to make a drink that tasted like Ovaltine, spurred by the announcement of a new product, Bittermans Xocolcatl Mole Bitters. These bitters are a result of a transatlantic collaboration between the Massachusetts based Bittmermans and estimable German bitters makers, The Bitter Truth, something like a DC/Marvel Comics cross brand storyline--and Mark did await their arrival like a kid anxious for a hot new comic book. The drink is essentially an almond and coca margarita which manages to sidestep any of the cloying, cutesy flavors that might bring to mind by using dark agave nectar coupled with the almond syrup Orgeat to bring the sweet, and the mole bitters to bring the muscley, bass-heavy cocoa notes. One of his earlier iterations actually used Ovaltine on the rim all on its own, but a combination of almond flour and sea salt anchored the high cocoa notes with a needed maturity, while preserving the potent comfort food association from childhood. The resulting cocktail is an adult's sweetest bedtime wish imaginable.
Y TU MOLE TAMBIEN
Rim Mixture:
2 parts almond flour
1 part sea salt (Mark used "Fleur de Sel de Guerande")
All Mark Buettler posts and videos
IT'S MARKTOBER! love to see ovaltine being used like this. looks amazing.
Posted by: Sam | October 11, 2009 at 01:29 PM
I would mix cocoa nibs in the rim mixture for better taste and effect and sheer novelty.
Posted by: Paul Underwood | October 12, 2009 at 09:48 AM