To toast the mame box and Eric Fuller’s achievement and contribution to the ancient art, I have a special cocktail. For a “bean” box, we need some bean booze, of course. Coffee bean booze, specifically, which is no random choice for this box either, and has a special significance, which I will not elucidate but rather allow to rattle around in your mind. I actually created this cocktail as my entry into last year’s “Home Bartender of the Year” competition finals, which I was lucky enough to achieve even though I didn’t win. It’s still a winning drink!

For the competition, finalists were tasked with creating a highball style drink with amaro in the spirit of the classic “Americano”. That drink, a favorite of Italian café society locals and later, visiting Americans, originated in 1860’s Milan where one of it’s main ingredients, Campari, was invented. Adding sweet vermouth and club soda completes the drink. For this version, I chose a robust coffee amaro liqueur roasted with Sumatra beans and aged in a whiskey barrel. My wife tells a story about her grandfather, who loved to drink his espresso along with lemon granita. That incredible flavor combination was the impetus for this drink. To the coffee amaro I added a mix of lemony spirits, a split of the delicious bergamot liqueur Italicus and the gentian French aperitif Suze, with its soft citrus notes. I tied it all together with a few dashes of Bittermen's Boston Bittahs, which add a touch more citrus and a lovely layer of chamomile. Topped with soda on ice, it’s a perfect summer sipper that will transport you. Since I created the drink right after the 2020 election the name became a crafty coffee play on words and the drink got a pair of signature aviators. Cheers!

Sleepy Joe

2 oz Caffe Amaro

½ oz Italicus

½ oz Suze

2 dashes Bittermen’s Boston Bittahs

Club soda

Build ingredients over ice in a tall glass and top with the soda water. Lemon peel aviator sunglasses garnish.

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