Portal

Portal cocktail

Clean, simple, elegant and surprising are the descriptors for this puzzle portal and the recipe for a drink to pair it with as well. The name really says it all, and became a portmanteau for the cocktail. Port is a Portuguese fortified sweet wine typically served for dessert, with many expressions. Only wines made from grapes grown in Portugal’s Duoro Valley region can technically be called port. The region is an ancient site for wine making, the planet’s oldest and a UNESCO world Heritage site. Tawny port is a very sweet variety which has been wood barrel aged, often for decades, a process which imparts a nutty, caramel flavor to the wine due to oxidation.

Bonal, or officially, Bonal Gentiane-Quina, is a French aperitif known as “ouvre l’appétit”, the key to the appetite. Similar to a vermouth, it has a mistelle red wine base which has been infused with proprietary herbs and botanicals including gentian and cinchona to give it a bitter balance. Nonetheless Bonal is a sweeter aperitif that makes it ideal to sip in the late afternoon with some tonic and lemon. For the Portal cocktail, I experimented with various additions to the two main namesake ingredients, trying bourbon, or citrus, and many other things, but in the end settled on the simplicity of a two ingredient drink. Sometimes, less is more. Cheers!

This pair with transport you

Portal

1 ½ oz Port

1 ½ oz Bonal

Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a favorite glass. Garnish with an orange peel circle.