Columbia

There's little of South America about this cocktail. Rather, I choose to see it as a drink honoring the discovery of the New World, if not Washington D.C., which I'm pretty sure it is not for the latter.

Therefore, American brandy was called for. I appreciate that this drink had some lemon acidity but vermouth and brandy kept things on the sweet and boozy side.

• 2 oz. brandy (Christian Brothers VSOP used)
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth (Cocchi di Torino used)
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. grenadine
• dash Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.