An Offer You Can’t Refuse: The Godfather, Family Power, and Cocktails Made for the Corleone's 

The Corleone family is living the American dream with Italian traditions and mafia business management.  At the head of the family is Vito Corleone who has built a reputation and relationships to the benefit of his family and those whom he had pledged to protect.  As the Corleone family enters a new era of income opportunities and of a new generation influencing the family business, the family starts to unravel and becomes vulnerable to competing interests.  With the family vulnerable, the thing that was most valuable for Vito to protect – his youngest son's distance from the family business is at risk. 

Our first cocktail is inspired by the business side of the Corlene family.  The "Consigliere" cocktail blends flavors together that embodies the study which the Don does his business from, and elements of the family's consigliere and adopted son, Tom who is of German-Irish decent.  We love the use of Scotch in this cocktail for it's smooth wood and peat notes, and mixed with Amaro Montenegro which lends subtle citrus, spice, tea and floral flavors with hints of herbs is exactly how we imagine the Don's study to smell like.  To bring out more of the citrus, tea and floral notes, we added Itallicus and to blend all of the flavors together in a lightly sweet finish a touch of agave.  Serve in a chilled highball with a rock and garnish it with a lemon pendant for freshness and a sophistication that the Consigliere maintained.  This cocktail is sure to make you feel ready to do some business both above and below the table.  

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.