negroni

Negroni Joven | for Ordinary Time

/ Paul Burkhart / Leave a comment

Recipe

All you need is 1/2 oz of each of the following:

  • Tequila Blanco
  • Tequila Reposado
  • Tequila Añejo
  • Campari
  • Amaro Averna
  • Sweet Vermouth
  • Dry Vermouth
  • Garnish: A lime twist & your favorite Summer read

Instructions: Stir with ice and serve over a large cube. Express the oils from a Lime peel over the drink and drop it in.

* * * *

Ordinary Time is the Church’s longest season, and also its quietest, most mundane. But that’s the secret of it: this is where most of life happens.  Ordinary Time (and the Church Calendar itself) is cyclical, but not static. It’s like a helix, looping back through the same motions, but always a little higher, a little deeper, than before. In fact, it’s name doesn’t mean “plain”, but comes from the word ordinal because it counts time from Pentecost.

The Negroni Joven (pronounced HO-ven) is about this sort of time. It’s named after joven tequila, a blend of aged and unaged tequila, which is exactly what Ordinary Time is for us. It’s new each year, and yet the benefits accumulate over time. So there grows a depth and richness, even in the midst of the newness, adding layers of complexity.

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Family Reunion | A Pentecost Negroni

/ Paul Burkhart / Leave a comment

Recipe

  • ½ oz Rye Whiskey (USA)
  • ½ oz Tequila Blanco (Mexico)
  • 1 oz Suze (French Amaro)
  • ½ oz Carpano Antica (Italian Sweet Vermouth)
  • ½ oz Ruby Port (Portugal)
  • ¼ oz Islay Scotch (Scotland – floated on top)
  • Flamed Orange Peel Garnish

Stir all ingredients except the Scotch with ice and strain into a rocks glass over a large cube. Gently float the Islay Scotch over the top by pouring it over the back of a spoon. Flame an orange peel over the glass, express its oils, and drop it in.

* * * *

Happy Birthday, Church! It is now Pentecost, the day that God’s own Spirit filled God’s own people, crossing language, boundaries, cultures, and nationalities to create one new united family. In the tongues of fire and language, God reversed the story of the Tower of Babel.

That’s the heart of this Negroni, Family Reunion. It’s built from spirits scattered across the world: American rye, Mexican tequila, French Suze, Italian vermouth, Portuguese port, and a smoky Scotch from the far edge of Scotland. It’s a drink that doesn’t pretend the differences aren’t there but lets them all sit in the glass together. Each part keeps its accent, but together they have an incredibly unity.

The drink itself leans earthy and complex. The rye brings structure, the tequila adds depth, and the Suze’s golden gentian bitterness contributes an interesting mid-note to the flavors. The Carpano Antica and the Ruby Port round it out with deep, red sweetness, like the shared wine of communion: one cup, many vineyards. Lastly, the Islay Scotch float and the flamed orange peel garnish image the tongues of fire hovering over those first Christians.

This drink is Pentecost in miniature. But this is not a quick or delicate Negroni. It’s heavier, slower, more reflective. The kind of drink that doesn’t mind being passed around, that tastes different each time you come back to it. It’s the flavor of the Church at her best — many voices, one Spirit, the family gathered again around the same table drinking from the Common Cup of God’s grace.

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The Alleluia Negroni | For Easter

/ Paul Burkhart / Leave a comment

Recipe

  • 1 oz Barrel-Aged Gin
  • 1 oz Suze Amaro
  • 1 oz Dolin Blanc (or other white, sweet vermouth such as Lillet Blanc or Cocchi Americano)
  • Top with Seltzer or Tonic
  • Garnish with lemon twist

Stir the gin, Suze, and vermouth with ice until chilled. Strain into a glass with fresh ice. Top with your sparkling of choice. Express the oil of a lemon peel over it all and garnish with the peel.

* * * *

It’s Easter! He is risen indeed. Alleluia!

The Church’s highest feast is one of joy, celebration, and abundance. This season isn’t content with a muted sip; it needs something golden, bright, and effervescent. The Easter Negroni takes the classic trinity of spirit, amaro, and vermouth and transfigures it into something new—bubbling with life, radiant in hue, and rich with meaning.

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Felix Culpa (Fortunate Fall) | A Lent Negroni

/ Paul Burkhart / Leave a comment

Recipe

  • 1 oz Mezcal
  • 1.25 oz Spiced Apple Wine (or 1 oz rich Sweet Vermouth)
  • .75 oz Cardamoro
  • Garnish: Apple Slice and Smoked Rosemary

Add all spirits to a mixing glass. Stir with ice until chilled and diluted. Strain over fresh ice. Add apple slice and light the end of a sprig of rosemary on fire. Put out the flame and let it smoke.

* * * *

Lent begins in ashes, but it doesn’t end there. It moves through wilderness, temptation, and sorrow—not to leave us in dust, but to lead us toward resurrection. Lent reminds us of a bittersweet truth: that our sinfulness is a necessary ingredient for our redemption.​

The ancient theologians called it felix culpa—”fortunate fall”—the idea that humanity’s fall led to a greater good: the coming of Christ and the outpouring of grace. In other words, it is better to have been lost and found than to never have been lost at all. In other other words: “there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

As the Exsultet proclaims in the Easter Vigil: “O happy fall that earned for us so great, so glorious a Redeemer.”​

So let us raise a glass to this wonderful mystery with this Lenten Negroni. It brings together the sweetness of Eden, the smoke of exile, and the herbal bitterness of toil and grace.

The first sip greets you with the smoky depth and vegetal complexity of mezcal, reminiscent of the Garden and darkness of sin. The spiced apple wine and garnish call to mind that original temptation, now made sweet by Christ. Grounding the drink is Cardamaro, bringing an earthy bitterness evoking images of thorns, toil, and grace. Lastly, the flaming rosemary symbolizes both the flaming sword preventing re-entry to Eden and holy incense granting us entry into the presence of God.

This is a complex, surprisingly light drink with lots of layers if you let yourself sit with it. May it serve as a sensory reflection on the journey from fall to redemption, reminding us that even in our brokenness, grace abounds.

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