Happy Fruity Hyde

2 cocktails: 4 cl Amaretto, 4 cl fruit-schnaps, 10 cl Lillet, 1 cardamom pod, 1 allspice berry, 1 coffee bean, orange peel, ice.

'Amaretto', the Italian diminutive for 'bitter' already reveals much of what we are dealing with in this almond based liquor. Having a typical sweetness and alcohol content it combines the three key ingredients of all cocktails. The bitterness of this liquor comes from benzaldehyde, an oily organic substance which carries the characteristic and well known bitter almond taste.

Interestingly, benzaldehyde is considered safe for consumtpion while the notorious poisonous effect of bitter almonds comes from the transformation, or more specifically the enzymatic hydrolysis of almond glucosides (sugary molecules) into cyanide. Cyanides are relatively volatile though and concentrations supposedly become harmless whenever bitter almonds are used in cooked foods. Indigestion of only a few un-cooked bitter almonds though may be deadly. But again, the almond flavour in this drink is provided by benzaldehyde, not cyanide.

It seems curious though, that cyanide is sometimes referred to as having an almond like odour. Could this perhaps be due to benzaldehyde impurities? Who knows?

Here we combine the overpowering taste of Amaretto with a fruity schnaps, like raspberry or cherry. Grind cardamom, allspice and coffee bean in mortar, macerate a for a few seconds with about one ml of the Lillet, strain through a kitchen paper towel and combine with Amaretto and schnaps in a shaker with ice. Pour, decorate with an orange peel and enjoy.

Zum Wohl, cheers.