With The Fishes
Channels Luca Brasi’s brutal legacy with a New York Sour–style blend of smoky mezcal, amaro, citrus, and ginger, finished with a Coppola red wine float to symbolize the Corleone family’s violent underworld concealed beneath a polished surface. (Recipe Below)
Our second cocktail is inspired by the brassily brutish side of the Corlene family which was carried out by Luca Brasi before he was ambuscade by another family and a drug kingpin and now "Sleeps with the Fishes". Inspired by the gorish side of the family, and Francis Ford Coppola's Wine, we set the cocktail in a New York Sour style. We blend together Mezcal to give the cocktail a leathery smokiness, Amaro Montenegro for its citrus, spice and herbal characters which we imagine is the scent that taints Luca's jacket from days of eating delicious Italian food and nights of firing a pistol at whomever crosses the Corleone's. We balance the cocktail with Lemon juice and Ginger syrup for a touch of sweet and a subtle tingle and shake it with some aquafaba for body. To finish "him" off, serve it in a chilled coupe and float a medium bodied red wine with peppery notes from Coppola Wines which will sit between the well blended flavors inspired by Luca Brasi and the delicately sweet foam at the top. Symbolizing the well practiced cover, the family must maintain for those who are unaware and those who benefit from the family business.
With the Fishes
.75 oz (22.5mL) Mezcal
.75 oz (22.5mL) Amaro Montenegro
Fat .25 oz (7.5mL) Lemon Juice
.5 oz (15mL) Ginger Syrup
Dropper Saline
1 oz (30mL) Aquafaba
1 oz (30mL) Red Wine
In a shaker tin, combine .75 oz Mezcal, .75 oz amaro Montenegro, .25 oz Lemon Juice, .5 oz Ginger Syrup, 1 oz Aquafaba, and a dropper of saline. Add Ice > a spring > and more ice > cover and shake for 30 seconds. Double strain into a chilled coupe and float 1 oz of a rich Red Wine on top.
Cocktail recipes and instruction videos are created by Boozy Movies, LLC
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Del Maguey Vida Mezcal
Country: Mexico
ABV: 84 proof/42%
Brand: Pernod Ricard Group
Spirits Type: Mezcal
Taste: Clean, Agave, Spice, Long Smoky Finish
Price Category: $
Made from a blend of Espadin Agaves which are roasted in underground ovens, fermented and twice distilled. It has an earthy smoky flavor that lingers with herbal and spice notes at the front of the palate and a slight bite at the end.
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Amaro Montenegro
Country: Italy
ABV: 46 proof/23%
Brand: Montenegro S.R.L
Spirits Type: Amaro, Aperitif & Vermouth
Taste: A balance of bittersweet herbs, vanilla, and citrus
Price Category: $$
Characterized as a bitter liqueur, it is a blend of sweet and bitter oranges, 40 different herbs, an no added sweeteners. The result is a mildly bittersweet liqueur with lightly vegetal and warming spice notes.
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Lemon Juice
5-6% acidity
Less acidic than lime juice, lemon juice will add enough acidity to brighten flavors without overpowering when balanced with sweetness. Usually our preference when needing acid to emulsify with egg white, aquafaba or cream.
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Ginger Syrup
Ginger add spiciness with a floral undertone. The sweetness and the spiciness helps bring flavor to the front of the tongue and carry to the middle-upper palate. A fresh ginger syrup reaps a lot of reward in a cocktail.
To Make Ginger Syrup:
.25 lb (113.4 g) Fresh Ginger
2 oz (60mL) Water
.5 cup (100 g) Cane Sugar
Blender Method
In a blender jar, combine Ginger and Water. Pulse until juice can be extracted. Strain out the solids through cheese cloth.
Juicer Method
Juice ginger, add 2 oz of water to the juice.
Combine in a small saucepan ginger juice and sugar.
Heat over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. When small bubbles start to form, remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Pour into a syrup bottle. Store in a cool, dark place.
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Aquafaba
An Egg White Substitute for cocktails. Aquafaba offers a silky texture that is slightly savory and can be aerated or shaken to create a cocktail foam.
An Egg White Substitute for cocktails
1- 15 oz can Garbanzo Beans/Chickpeas
barspoon Cream of Tartar
Strain out the chickpeas using a fine mesh strainer. Pour chickpea brine in a clean and dry condiment bottle, add 1 tsp cream of tartar and stir gently to combine. Seal and store in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks. * A note on using aquafaba for cocktails: Gently swirl prepared aquafaba before use to redistribute the settled cream of tartar; acid such as citrus juice will be necessary for frothing emulsion.
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Diamond Red Blend
Country: United States
ABV: 29 proof/14.5%
Brand: Coppola Wines
Spirits Type: Red Wine
Taste: Plum, Blueberry, Spice
Price Category: $
Coppola calls this the "sky's the limit" blend A blend of California grapes, a red blend is a great for cocktail mixing because the blending can be selected to produce a clean red wine with a balance of deep and berry flavored notes along with pepper and clove.
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Salt/Saline
Salt is a great flavor booster. It can balance sweetness and bitterness, smoothing out a cocktail. It can also enhance citrus flavor and acidity without the need for more acid. It is most commonly used in rimming cocktail glasses, but a sprinkle in the cocktail shaker can really impact a cocktail. Make it into a saline solution to enhance stirred cocktails.
An Offer You Can’t Refuse: The Godfather, Family Power, and Cocktails Made for the Corleone's
The Godfather remains one of cinema’s most enduring masterpieces, chronicling the rise, struggles, and transformation of the Corleone family as they balance old-world loyalty, American ambition, and the brutal realities of organized crime. At the center stands Don Vito Corleone, whose carefully cultivated network of respect and obligation begins to fracture as new opportunities, rival interests, and generational change threaten everything he has built—including his hope that his youngest son, Michael, would remain untouched by the family business. To honor both the sophistication and the savagery that define the Corleone legacy, we paired the film with two cocktails: the Consigliere, a refined blend of Scotch, Amaro Montenegro, Italicus, and agave that evokes the quiet power of the Don’s study, and Luca Sleeps With the Fishes, a smoky New York Sour-inspired cocktail layered with mezcal, citrus, ginger, and a float of red wine. Like the film itself, the drinks balance elegance with menace, revealing complex layers beneath polished exteriors and rewarding those willing to linger over every detail. Whether you view The Godfather as the ultimate mafia story or a tragic saga about family, these cocktails provide the perfect excuse to pour a glass, settle in, and make an offer you can’t refuse.
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