Ellie Centeno
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Maria Cacao INGREDIENTS
My Angostura Moment I currently work at Barely Disfigured, Brooklyn. I have worked in the industry for almost three years. My background before bartending was in media, fashion, music, and marketing. However, nothing has ever given me more fulfillment than bartending. I learned about Angostura bitters through my barback when I started training at the bar. His drink of choice was bitters and soda, and we used bitters heavily in cocktails, so I was curious. I’ve learned bitters are essential to creating perfectly balanced recipes. And the more I became familiar with bitters, the more I wanted to experiment. Bitters bring many things to a cocktail like balance, taste, complex notes, and roundedness. Cocoa bitters have helped balance cocktails for me. Specifically, in the Maria Cacao, they rounded out the flavors of molasses, banana, and coffee found in the other components. Angostura cocoa bitters lends its subtle complexity to elevate the everyday drink.
2 oz. Don Papa Aged Rum ¾ oz. Cynar 70 Artichoke Amaro ½ oz. Giffard Banane du Bresil banana liqueur 5 drops saline 3 dashes Angostura cocoa bitters PREPARATION
Stir with ice, serve on the rocks, and garnish with an expressed orange peel.