Drink Recipe: The Fiery Almond

I love this recipe — it’s deliciously dessert-like, has a good hit of spice without blowing you out of your chair, and involves two easy techniques that make you look like a rock star.

Technique #1:  Rimming a Cocktail Glass. This recipe uses a mix of chipotle and cocoa, but once you’ve mastered this technique you can also rim a glass with salt, sugar, Pop-Rocks…whatever your heart desires. To see the technique in action, check out this video of Duggan McDonnell over at Chow.com.

Technique #2:  Cream Float.  Hold a spoon directly over the glass, rounded side up. Ever-so-gently, trickle cream over the back of the spoon and it will set up as a layer over the top of the drink.

The Fiery Almond

1 Tablespoon cocoa powder

1/2 Tablespoon chipotle powder

3/4 ounces amaretto

1/2 ounce Kahlua

1 ounce light cream

To rim the glass: moisten the rim with amaretto. Combine cocoa and chipotle powder in a small dish or shallow bowl. Carefully dip the rim of the glass into the powder mix to coat.

Shake together amaretto and Kahlua over ice; strain into an old-fashioned glass half-filled with ice. Gently pour cream over the back of a spoon to create a cream “float” on top without disturbing the rest of the drink.

photo credit: Antonis Achilleos/Chronicle Books