Il Panetùn

Recipe: Il Panetùn (serves one)

• 1 1/2 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
• 1/2 oz. Barolo Chinato (we used Cappellano brand)
• 1 1/2 oz. heavy cream
• 1 oz. homemade chocolate syrup (see recipe below)
• 2 dashes (= 1/4 tsp) orange bitters
• 1 dash (= 1/8 tsp) Angostura bitters
• sprinkle of cocoa powder

Combine liquid ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously. Strain into cocktail glass and garnish with cocoa powder.

This cocktail combines chocolate, orange, and spices with hints of candied fruit and raisins to make a rich holiday drink. It’s aptly named after the Milanese Christmas cake. The sweetness is balanced by another Italian export: Barolo Chinato, made from Barolo wine infused with herbs, spices, and the bitter cinchona bark that’s used to make quinine.

We adapted this recipe from Imbibe Magazine. The original version includes twice as much sugar in the homemade chocolate syrup, and uses 1 ounce of heavy cream plus an egg yolk.

We hope this gets you in the holiday spirit!

Recipe: Homemade Chocolate Syrup

• 3/4 cup golden raisins
• zest from 2 oranges
• 2 cups water
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• sugar (amount to make a 1:1 sugar-to-liquid ratio, see below)

Use a vegetable peeler to get the outer layer of skin (the zest) from the oranges. Put the orange zest, golden raisins, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Muddle the fruit and cook for 6 minutes. Strain out and discard the solids and return the liquid to the saucepan. Add cocoa powder; stir over low heat until dissolved. Measure the chocolate mixture in a measuring cup and pour back into the pan. Add an equal amount (by volume) of sugar and stir over low heat until dissolved. Cool mixture and place in a container. Keeps for 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Enjoy!