“Every year around the fall season I do an event up in Lake Forest Chicago called Revelry Food & Wine Festival,” Beau MacMillan shares. “My dear friends Dominic and Cecilia Zampano have a beautiful restaurant in the area called The Gallery, where they make this delicious spiced apple cocktail, Legend Has It, that really makes it feel like the turn of the season and gets me excited for the holidays. With its notes of apple and hints of star anise, I would certainly pair this with a beautiful piece of pork belly, winter root vegetables, and some sort of cider glaze.”
Legend Has It
1¼ ounces Nonino L’Aperitivo
¾ ounce Hibiki Japanese Whisky
1¼ ounces fuji apple juice
¼ ounce star anise honey simple
¼ ounce lemon juice
Martinelli's Sparkling Cider
Combine in rocks glass, stir, and top with sparkling cider.
Chef Dominic Zumpano of The Gallery Restaurant
“If A Lemon Curd, It Would is one of my all-time favorite cocktails. The first time I had it I was actually judging a cocktail competition, and it was hands-down my favorite drink,” MacMillan shares. “Ashley Cibor, an incredible mixologist at UnderTow in Phoenix, is the creator, and it blew me away with its complexity and balance. It is truly reminiscent of the lemon Christmas cookies my grandmother used to make and reminds me of her tirelessly baking in the kitchen during the holidays. Because of the flavor profile, I would pair this drink with a beautiful chèvre cheesecake for dessert.”
If a Lemon Curd, It Would!
2 ounces graham cracker-infused Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon
¼ ounce St. George Chicory Liqueur
¼ ounce wildflower honey
¼ ounce lemon juice
¼ ounce homemade lemon curd
4 dash St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
1 egg white
Served up with grated nutmeg and grated salt-cured egg yolk.
Ashley Cibor, bar manager of UnderTow
“When I think of the La Signora, I think of an espresso martini meets a carajillo," says MacMillan. "I'm a big cocktail guy and like to pair them with each course throughout dinner, but with the tequila and notes of vanilla from the Liquor 43, the cinnamon, and the espresso, I think this a perfect after dinner sipper when the temperature drops in winter. I just want to sit outside by a fire with a cigar and savor this cocktail.”
La Signora
1½ ounces Casamigos Reposado
½ ounce cafe liqueur
½ ounce Licor 43
1 ounce fresh espresso
Topped with cinnamon
Ari Arzate, bar lead of CALA Scottsdale
