A low-proof cocktail with a bittersweet profile reminiscent of a Negroni, the Sharona is a staple on the menu at Eel Bar, the Basque-inspired hot spot in New York’s SoHo. It’s also perfect for batch mixing, says the restaurant’s co-owner Nialls Fallon, 39, making it an ideal option for hosts who want to enjoy their own parties rather than play bartender. The unfussy crowd-pleaser keeps the Campari and sweet vermouth used in a classic Negroni, but replaces gin with manzanilla sherry, a dry, high-acid alternative to the sweet cream sherries that have historically dominated the American market. The Sharona leans into manzanilla’s brightness, featuring twice as much sherry as it does Campari, a ratio that also keeps the drink’s A.B.V. (or alcohol by volume) relatively low. It’s modeled after a prepared vermouth, a Basque Country mainstay that pairs aromatized wine with just a splash of a heavier spirit to add some oomph. “You can sip all day and you’re never really going to get drunk,” Fallon says. “It’s about having a snack and socializing.”
A pitcher of Sharonas — which pairs perfectly with oysters, grilled prawns and salty, fried foods — can be made well in advance and chilled until party time. Eel Bar’s version uses Bodega Hidalgo’s La Gitana manzanilla from the Andalusian seaside town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda (the only place in the world where manzanilla is produced) and the Basque distillery Acha’s red vermouth, which has citrus and floral notes that complement the drink’s orange peel garnish. But any sweet red vermouth would work. This cocktail is all spirits-based, so you don’t have to worry about separation, as you would if it contained juice, and its light profile is more forgiving than something like a Negroni, which can taste off when not properly diluted by melting ice. “Don’t worry about making it too perfect,” says Fallon — a mantra for stress-free hosting all summer long.
Eel Bar’s Sharona, for a crowd
Serves 8
Ingredients
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12 oz. (1½ cups) manzanilla sherry
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8 oz. (1 cup) sweet red vermouth, ideally Spanish
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6 oz. (¾ cup) Campari
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1 orange
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Ice
1. Pour the sherry, vermouth and Campari into a 1-liter pitcher and stir. Chill in the fridge for a few hours, until ready to serve. (The batch can also be funneled into a sealable bottle and chilled in a cooler or stored in the freezer for up to two weeks.)
2. Just before serving, shave strips of orange rind with a vegetable peeler, removing as little of the pith as possible, and set them in a bowl on the bar along with some rocks glasses and a bucket of ice.
3. Pour over ice to taste. (At Eel Bar, the serving is 3.25 oz. — about halfway up a standard 10 oz. rocks glass, with ice.) Hold the orange peel skin-side down over the glass and twist, misting citrus oil over the top of the drink, before dropping the peel into the glass.
Prop Styling: Rachel Mannello. Camera Assistant: Timothy Mulcare.
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