Next Time You’re Sitting ’Round a Fire, Drink This

(Bloomberg) -- As far as quintessential summer experiences go, few things beat the campfire. There’s nothing like gathering a few loved ones, along with a healthy supply of kindling, and staring into the flames as you chat idly for hours. Who wouldn’t want a delicious nightcap to accompany them in this timeless summer ritual? Neat whiskey seems like an obvious choice for the occasion, but with a few tricks, you can elevate your drinking from a simple pour to an intriguingly complex cocktail with a twist—no ice needed.

While it’s rare to see a room-temperature cocktail on a bar menu these days, they were actually quite common in the 19th century, when ice had to be harvested from frozen lakes and was considered a luxury.

“Traditionally known as scaffas, drinks served without ice can be warming, comforting sippers,” says Kara Newman, author of Nightcap: More Than 40 Cocktails to Close Out Any Evening. “They can also be effective for showing off nuanced flavors and aromas, which is why some whiskey lovers or brandy lovers prefer drinks served neat.”

To pull off an unchilled cocktail, remember these rules:

• No citrus. Since when has a room-temperature margarita appealed to anyone?
• Stick with brown spirits and complex modifiers such as amaros.
• Add water directly to adjust for what you’d normally get from melting ice during stirring and shaking.

Four Roses Yellow Label bourbon is an excellent base for cocktails—its high rye content gives it a spicy punch, and it’s an excellent value. Pairing the bourbon with a delicate French sweet vermouth gives our drink a Manhattan-ish quality, while the crème de cacao and Fernet-Branca provide depth, sweetness, and bitterness.

Room-temperature cocktails offer a few benefits over their chilled counterparts: They’re easy to batch (this recipe serves two), and you can take them anywhere without worrying about keeping them cold, which is ideal if you’re hiking out a few miles to reach the perfect bonfire spot. Plus, “a drink pre-batched in a flask and sipped in the great outdoors is a wonderful simple pleasure,” says Newman.

If you’re with a group, try scaling up this recipe by three and throwing it in an empty wine or spirits bottle and tossing it in your backpack. If by some chance you don’t finish it, it will keep for a few days in the cupboard, or up to two weeks in the fridge.

Midsummer Nightcap

Serves 2

1.5 oz. Four Roses Yellow Label bourbon 
1.5 oz. Dolin Rouge sweet vermouth
1.5 oz. Fernet-Branca
0.75 oz. crème de cacao
1.5 oz. water
Orange peel, for garnish (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and split between two Old-Fashioned glasses. Garnish with an orange peel.

12 Cocktails of Summer

• Dry Rob: A twist on a Manhattan to class up any backyard BBQ 
• Sandia Fairy: A tequila-watermelon cooler for your next picnic
• Pay It No Mind Punch: The perfect drink for a Gay Pride party
• Ssam Sauce Michelada: Get fired up with chili-spiked beer
• Coconut Daiquiri to Go: An easy, make-ahead beach cocktail

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Justin Ocean at jocean1@bloomberg.net

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