“According to legend,” the Frangelico liqueur bottle states, “Friar Angelico lived three centuries ago in the rolling hills of Piedmont in the shadow of the Italian Alps. Through his love and knowledge of nature he created a precious liqueur made from carefully selected hazelnuts and other secret ingredients.” Spruce Eats (one of our top go-to sources for cocktail recipes and liquor lore) agrees that Frangelico is the premium hazelnut liqueur on the market, and its delicious complexity comes from the combination of hazelnuts (and alcohol) with cocoa, vanilla, and coffee extracts.
And yet we had never found a Frangelico cocktail recipe that we really liked! So when it was our turn to host Wednesday Night Cocktail Club, we looked in our cabinet and decided we really needed to figure out what to do with this super cool bottle of liqueur. Quite a bit of research and taste-testing later, we found two fabulous recipes. Our friends agreed with us: the Munich Negroni Western Style and the Nutty Martini are awesome ways to enjoy Frangelico!
Munich Negroni Western Style (from Difford’s Guide)
⅔ oz bourbon whiskey
⅔ oz Italian red bitter liqueur (we prefer aperol to campari)
⅔ oz hazelnut liqueur
⅓ oz sweet vermouth
Stir all ingredients with ice and pour into ice-filled old fashioned glass.
Nutty Martini (from Spruce Eats)
2 oz vodka
¾ oz hazelnut liqueur
1 t simple syrup
Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
After these drinks, it was definitely closing time!