Jessica Lambert is the head bartender of Vol. 39 and Boleo in Chicago.
I came up with the idea to make a coconut fat-washed, pisco Negroni after a visit to South America—it’s one of my favorite twists on classic cocktail. I combined raw, unrefined coconut oil, which has a high-level of fat, with Kappa pisco and froze it. This caused the fat to rise and solidify. I skimmed the fat and voila!
The pisco was enhanced with a beautifully, robust coconut flavor that paired nicely with this Chilean pisco. It’s tropical on the nose and bright but still has a slightly bitter, dry finish.
Coconut Negroni
1 ½ oz. Coconut fat-washed Kappa pisco*
¾ oz. Campari
¾ oz. Carpano Antica
Combine ingredients and stir. Strain into coupe glass. Express orange oil from a peel and discard.
*For Coconut fat-washed pisco
2 cups Unrefined coconut oil
750-ml. bottle of pisco
Heat oil on medium heat until liquefied. In a large container, empty 750 ml. of pisco. Pour hot oil into room temperature pisco in a container. (Always pour the fat into the alcohol, not the alcohol into the hot fat.) Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour, periodically agitating the container to recombine the liquids. Store in freezer for 24 to 48 hours. Remove from freezer, skim fat and strain through a coffee filter.
