My Uncle Tony gave us a bottle of Frangelico for Christmas and I’ve been trying to work out what to do with it. Obviously, I could drink it. That was actually the first idea that came into my head.  Bit of ice, give it the old Disaronno treatment, lovely, bosh, etc.

But over the past few years I’ve really got into cocktails. I don’t mean that in the same way that a junkie is really into heroin. I don’t think I’ve turned into an alcoholic. I just mean that when I do have a drink, I like it to be fancy.

It started, as so many things did, over lockdown. Some people learnt how to make sourdough and started their own bakery businesses. We started having a Friday negroni. And, honestly, I don’t think we’re the losers here. Bakers have to get up at 1.30am every day. I’m 53 now. I have to get up at 1.30am most days too, but at least I get to go back to bed.

A Friday negroni is highly recommended, by the way. You know how to make a negroni – 30ml each of gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth, stirred with ice until the glass feels cold, and served with some sort of orange garnish (half a slice, or a twist of peel expressed over the top) – obviously. Have your Friday negroni with a salty snack – crisps, olives, caperberries, whatever, I’m not your mother – and it’s like the weekend giving you a big hug.

But I started to wonder what else we could be drinking on an early Friday evening. I fell into a black hole of YouTube videos, and now, five years on, I’m standing in the kitchen working out what to do with a bottle of Frangelico.

So, Frangelico. It’s a hazelnut liqueur, made in Italy. The bottle is designed to look like a monk, with its little rope belt. If you look back at the history of booze, you can’t move for monks, with Benedictine this and Chartreuse that, and Dom Perignon. I’m sure they were supposed to be praising God and not speaking very much, but apparently the monastic life gives you plenty of off-hours which you can dedicate to finding new and inventive ways to get people trollied.

It’s not as sweet or as overpowering as an amaretto. Taking a sip of Disaronno is like being hit in the face with a marzipan cricket bat. Frangelico is much more subtle, with a slight graininess. The almost savoury hazelnut puts me in mind of a decent bourbon, and that, combined with the Christmas chocolates that are still hanging around the place, gives me an idea.

The Ambassador’s Old Fashioned

60ml / 2oz bourbon
15ml / 0.5oz Frangelico
5ml/ 1 bar spoon rich demerara syrup*
2-3 dashes chocolate bitters (I used Angostura cocoa bitters. I know it’s basic, but I’m not made of bitters)
Twist of orange peel

Mix the bourbon, Frangelico, demerara syrup, and chocolate bitters in a rocks glass, with a big ice cube and stir until really cold. Express the orange peel over the top, and then shove it in the glass.

MESSAGE to long-time readers: No, I’m not pivoting to cocktails. You can still expect awkward social blunders, centrist dadism, and the occasional baiting of Elf fans. I just wanted to post this recipe. IT’S NOT LIKE YOU’RE PAYING FOR THESE BLOGPOSTS – GET OFF MY BACK.

*To make a rich demerara syrup, mix a ratio of two parts demerara sugar with one part water in a saucepan and gently heat while stirring until all the sugar crystals have gone, then bottle it. It keeps for ages in the fridge.