In case National Hazelnut Month slipped under the radar in Septembers past, Frangelico hazelnut liqueur is launching a full campaign this year to make sure foodies and bar-goers can find fabulous and inventive ways to celebrate this month’s favorite nut.
While restaurants like New York City’s The National will be incorporating the hazelnut flavor on their dinner and dessert menus (think hazelnut meets roasted duck concoctions), select Westchester and Fairfield county bars and restaurants have created festive, fall-ready treats of their own, rolling out specialty cocktails with the Italian liqueur.
A sweet, velvety liqueur like Frangelico is a great precursor or even an alternative to dessert with its rich taste of butter, Northern Italian hazelnuts, almonds and fudge combined with notes of vanilla, berries and coffee, aged in oak casks following the original recipe. And despite its luxurious, forbidden-fruit feel, a serving of 40-proof Frangelico weighs in at only 95 calories.
Here are suggestions for versatile hazelnut drinks, created just for this month, that you can enjoy with a date or gathering of foodie friends at restaurants in your neighborhood:
“Nutty Cien-Sation,” at Marc Charles, Armonk
Created by mixologist Will Blaine
Ingredients
1 oz. Amaretto almond liqueur
2 oz. Frangelico hazelnut liqueur
hot chocolate
1/8 oz. cherry brandy (Hiram Walker Brandy Cherry, Dekuyper Brandy Cherry)
whipped cream and cherry for garnish
chopped hazelnuts (optional)
Mixing Instructions:
Mix the Amaretto and the Frangelico into a coffee mug. Pour in the warmed hot chocolate. Add whipped cream on top. Next, gently pour the cherry brandy in a curving motion on top of the whipped cream. Garnish with a cherry and chopped hazelnuts.
“Raspberry Salted Beer Nuts,” The Cookery, Dobbs Ferry
Created by Executive Chef David DiBari
Recipe: Take 2 oz. of Frangelico liqueur and pour it into a snifter glass, then fill the snifter glass with a bottle of Krombacher Dark from Germany. The snifter glass is rimmed with Slovenian sea salt and dehydrated raspberry powder.
“Nociolla Bianca Martini,” Rizzuto’s Wood-fired Kitchen and Bar, Stamford,
Created by Denis Hallock
Ingredients:
0.5 oz. Frangelico hazelnut liqueur
1 oz. Stoli vanilla vodka
1 oz. Van Gogh chocolate vodka
0.5 oz. Limoncello
0.5 teaspoon mascarpone cheese
Mixing Instructions: Shake the ingredients together with ice and strain into a martini or cocktail glass. Garnish with a Ferrero Rocher candy.
“The Piedmont Bellini,” at Rizzuto’s, Stamford.
Ingredients:
0.5 oz. Frangelico
0.5 oz. Limoncello
3 oz. Prosecco
simple syrup
fresh lime juice
Mixing Instructions: Combine ingredients and top with fresh lime juice, serve cold.
