It’s not every day that I get to blind taste limoncello and invent a cocktail with a bartender first thing in the morning! But what a refreshing and welcome change of beat. Recently, the Cocktail Guru father-and-son duo, Jeffrey and Jonathan Pogash, hosted just an event that transported five pairs of journalist-and-bartender guests to the Amalfi coast via the sfusato lemon.

Seeing and smelling is always believing. I was shocked by the size of the giant Amalfi lemons that produce the aromatic limoncello. We learned that they are less astringent than most lemons and their thick skin imparts much of the flavor profile when macerated to make the sweet and tangy liqueur.

We blind tasted limoncello from five different producers, considering their common threads and our preferences. Then we partnered up to concoct an original cocktail based on Pallini Limoncello ($24). I lucked out and got to work with Paulo Sousa, secretary of the United States Bartenders’ Guild and a patient mixology trainer. We came up with a drink that has minimal ingredients but layers of texture (sweet, sour, spicy). And a name that is coy as coy can be…

OH, GINGER, HONEY!

By Cynthia Sin-Yi Cheng and Paulo Sousa

Ingredients
Pallini Limoncello
Celtic Honey Liqueur
Gosling’s Black Seal Bermuda Black Rum
Fresh jalapeño slice
Fresh lemon juice
Gosling’s Ginger Beer

Glassware
Martini glass

Method
In a cocktail glass pour:
2 oz Gosling’s Ginger Beer

In a Boston shaker combine:
1 slice of fresh jalapeño
2 oz Pallini Limoncello
1 oz Celtic Honey Liqueur
1 oz Gosling’s Black Seal
½ oz fresh lemon juice

Shake vigorously and strain with hawthorne strainer into the cocktail glass.

Garnish
Float a jalapeño wheel on the surface to garnish.