I know the holidays are technically over but I couldn’t resist breaking out the sweet stuff for one more frothy winter cocktail. As occasionally happens in my line of work, a bottle shaped like a monk’s habit appeared on my doorstep late last summer. I took it as a sign I needed to try the Frangelico captured within, and squirreled it away until tonight.
Frangelico is an Italian hazelnut liqueur made from wild hazelnuts found in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. It was evidently created by a group of minks monkeys (I’m drunk) monks some 300 years ago and then named after a monk of their order with hermit-like tendencies, brother Angelico. Or, abbreviated in Euro-speak, Fra. Angelico. Get it? Frangelico has a sweet and nutty taste, with cocoa and vanilla notes that further endear it to sipping this time of year.
No one is sure when the order got its party on with a bunch of flying Dutchmen wild Irishmen, but the end result of that crazy rendezvous is what I’ve been sipping on all night the past little while: a Frangelico Nutty Irishman.
It tastes kind of like a boozy chocolate-vanilla milkshake. I recommend it in the morning for breakfast as an after-dinner dessert drink. Best tipped back next to an open fireplace, snuggled under a blanket. Enjoy!
Frangelico Nutty Irishman
- 1-1/2 oz Frangelico
- 1-1/2 oz Carolans Irish Cream (I used Baileys)
- Ice cubes
Blend ingredients with 3-4 ice cubes. Serve on the rocks.
— Recipe courtesy Frangelico