The Last Big Party of the Year

Ingredients

• 2oz pinot noir
• 1oz bourbon (buffalo trace)
• 1/2oz luxardo maraschino liqueur
• 2 dashes angostura bitters
• orange wedge

I came up with four of these ingredients, and then Claire came to my rescue with the bitters. I liked the fruity, spicy flavor of this drink. The bourbon rounds off the drink with caramel notes that I think work nicely against the wine. This is kind of like a twist on a Manhatten, I guess, but with a different ratio and a very different flavor profile.

In the future, I might use a spicier wine - maybe Syrah? But it deserves experimentation.

Dad's Day Off Pinot Noir (2007)

Drink with Indian musical instruments.

This is technically an Italian wine, though I didn't know that there were a whole bunch of pinots from Italy. Medium bodied, very smooth. Dan thought it was very chocolate-y, and I thought it was caramel-y. But other than that, I didn't taste much else. It was good, but sort of one-note, in my opinion. But pleasant enough.

Ranking: 7.5/10 -- would probably buy again.