In the craft bartending era, a certain class of drink has fallen by the wayside: the trash cocktail.We're not talking about the mojito—the oh-so-embattled mojito.We're talking about those cream-filled concoctions that your mom might've drank in the 70s. We're talking about Grasshoppers, White Russians, and the lowliest of the low, the Pink Squirrel.
"It's one of those late-70s, trendy cocktails that people were drinking in New York especially," says Francis Verrall, bar manager at Xanadu in Williamsburg.But all you have to do to turn trash into treasure is to use premium ingredients. Luckily, this one calls for very few: one part each crème de noyaux and crème de cacao, an equal measure of half and half, and a little sprinkle of nutmeg on top. It's velvety, sweet, and oddly appropriate for autumn with its nutty, spicy notes.As for the hangover it can cause, well, just try to cut yourself off after two, lest you end up like Fran Drescher in The Nanny.RECIPE: Pink Squirrel Cocktail