Pour Tony a Calvagroni

Editor’s note: Tony may not be a bartender, but he knows a thing or two about cocktails. Inspired by some vintage products he dreamed up a new drink that fortunately you can make even if you don’t happen to have the same bottles on hand.

Not too long ago I found myself in Louisville with a free night, a big appetite, and a powerful thirst, so I horned in on the dinner plans of fellow scribe David Thomas Tao, who was also in town from NYC. Turns out he was only meeting up with Turner Wathen and Jordan Morris, founders of Rolling Fork Rum, also known as Rolling Fork Spirits, and Angel’s Envy master distiller Owen Martin. We all met up at La Bodeguita De Mima, the best-known of the many Cuban restaurants in the city (Louisville has a surprisingly large Cuban population). Turner and Jordan didn’t know I was in town, and fortunately they seemed happy to see me – or else they put on a really good act. Owen did know, and he showed up anyway. Thanks, pal!

A rollicking good time was had and lots of delicious food was consumed (ropa vieja in a can was honestly terrific), as were several Papas Daiquiris (“Papa” as in Hemingway, natch). Owen had to leave after dinner — that Angel’s Envy isn’t gonna distill itself, you know. But the rest of us were feeling the wanderlust… and still a little thirsty besides. So we headed over to Seven Cocktails + Bourbon. Seven not only has a deep bourbon selection, as you’d expect in Louisville, aka Bourbon Central, but they have a hell of a cocktail program as well. We’re talking barrel-aged Black Manhattan, a vintage Singapore Sling made with 1960s and ‘70s spirits (and fresh juices, thank goodness), an Old Fashioned with wagyu-washed Eagle Rare bourbon, you name it.

Only this time, we named it. Yeah, Seven has an Antique Negroni, with Campari, Punt e Mes, and gin all dating from the 1970s. But that was simply not distinctive enough for the likes of us slightly inebriated industry semi-titans. You see, Turner and Jordan don’t just source, age and bottle rum for Rolling Fork, although that’s what they’re best known for. They’re also the creative minds behind Wayward Cask, sourcing armagnacs and calvados from France for a smaller but no less fervent clientele (OK, maybe slightly less fervent — rum fans are an unusually fervent lot). Which is why Turner — I think it was Turner, but it could have been Jordan, my memory being hazy from the effect of the daiquiris at dinner — pulled what Walt Whitman might have called “a baller move.”

“Can we get four Antique Negronis,” the great man orated, “but with Wayward Cask 25 Year Old Calvados subbing for the gin?” Minds blown — David’s and mine, at least, if not our server’s, who was probably used to such shenanigans from these fellows.

Yes, there have been Calvados Negronis before. I’ve seen one called the Normandie, and another simply and prosaically named the Calvados Negroni. But were those, I ask you, made with bitters or Campari and vermouth close to half a century old, plus 25-year-old Calvados? I think not. And being as delicious as it was — dry, fruity, a little oaky, with such incredible depth and balance that at that moment I wanted to drink nothing else for the rest of my life — it needed its own name. And reader, I rose to the occasion. “We shall call it… the Calvagroni.” Again, my memory may be a little fuzzy, but I seem to remember sustained applause and perhaps even a few tears upon my proclamation.

Want to make your own Calvagroni? It’s easy! To make, that is. Financially, it’s a bit of an investment, but half-century old Campari and Punt e Mes can be found on the secondary market, and the Calvados is available directly from Rolling Fork. One ounce of each, stirred with ice, strained into a rocks glass with a large ice cube, and garnished with a slice of orange peel, and you’re in Calvagroni heaven.

If your budget or your patience don’t permit hunting down these particular ingredients, a slightly less thrilling but very satisfying Calvagroni can be made with present-day Campari or similar bitters; Punt e Mes or the sweet vermouth of your choice; and Calvados (I like Boulard’s, personally) or even good ol’ American apple brandy (Laird’s Bottled-in-Bond or, if you can find it, Tamworth Gardens’ VSOP Bottled-in-Bond). The key is to use an apple brandy that’s a little higher in proof and/or on the dry side, so the drink isn’t overly sweet.