If you’ve paid attention to anything I’ve ever said about amaro, you’ll know that Amaro Braulio is my favorite–it has been for the past ten years. And, as a result, I see it as typical of the alpine category, but that isn’t strictly correct! “Alpine” just denotes the region of origin and the Italian Alps span several regions, from Lombardy, Valle d’Aosta, and Piedmont in the east to Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige in the west.

The California gold rush created an incredible demand for all kinds of goods that the Bay area didn’t yet have the infrastructure and stock to provide. Coffee was one such commodity and its price skyrocketed as coffee merchants sought to make big profits off the miners’ newfound wealth. I imagine that the miners would have spiked their expensive coffee with a bit of whiskey and sweetened it with pricey sugar and vanilla, too.

This particular style of milk punch–far milkier than the “clarified” kind–is associated closely with New Orleans, where it transitioned from being served in a large format to individual servings. The traditional base is brandy or bourbon, but our version combines brandy (specifically Cognac) with rye and spikes the whole thing with notes of coffee and chocolate.

A big theme in 1960s and ‘70s singles bars was the offering of sweeter drinks that would supposedly appeal more to women. This drink is based on the Bushwacker, which originated on the Gulf Coast. Its inclusion in this month’s group of recipes is meant to represent the creamy, coffee-laced category that includes such famous cocktails as the White Russian and Mudslide.

Nothing could ever top the Fort Defiance Irish Coffee; built like a boozy Americano and sweetened with a basic simple syrup, it’s the pinnacle of the form. However, I was intrigued by the idea of adding some tropical flair to this classic, and I like what the lime and banana achieve here. I named this version after the county where the Shannon Airport is located, an important place in the history of Irish Coffee.

Bumbo, or “Bombo” is a rum sling sweetened, diluted spirit flavored with spices. Rum was a major force in eighteenth-century life, whether it was imported from the Caribbean (that was the best stuff) or produced locally in New England from molasses, the most famous of which was produced in Medford, Massachusetts. Like the whole toddy-sling family, Bumbo is among the nearest antecedents of the capital-C Cocktail.

Combining the traditions of espresso con panna ("with cream") and caffé corretto, this after-dinner drink offers both a digestif effect from the French brandy while also acting as a dessert.

I came up with this one when a customer at Gigantic requested something for their last drink of the night and alluded to a craving for coffee. I thought I’d combine three of my favorite after-dinner drinks, Cognac, coffee and amaro, in a Manhattan-inspired format. The basic idea comes from early versions of the Manhattan from the late nineteenth century. But it also has commonalities with the Hanky Panky or the Fanciuli, wherein a Manhattan skips the bitters in favor of amaro.