Shiny Penny Cocktail
I recently told my favorite moment that I’ve had as a bartender in my interview featured in the San Francisco Examiner, but unfortunately was misquoted on this experience. As I know this didn’t do the moment justice, I felt obliged to set the record straight on this moment.
I was working the day shift at Bocanova at the time, and it started out as a mundane shift. Not much going on, but my first guest that day was a lady who had just finished a round of chemotherapy treatment. She complained of the taste of the chemical cocktail they gave her, which was allegedly berry flavored but she assured me it tasted much worse. She definitely was a bit ornery to begin the experience, but I know I wouldn’t have been any more pleasant through her ordeal.
She first ordered a margarita, and let me choose the tequila. I decided upon the Casa Noble Reposado, since I’ve always enjoyed it’s rich flavor of vanilla and that it is organic. She loved the margarita, and ended up getting a second one. Her mood gradually improved throughout the experience, and I just did everything I could to make sure she could forget about the chemotherapy.
She ended up ordering Bocanova’s warm chocolate croissant bread pudding for dessert, and asked me to make her a cocktail to pair with it. I had been working on a drink, which I hadn’t yet named. The drink was a combination of Firelit Coffee Liqueur from local St. George’s distillery, Dolin Blanc Vermouth, Santa Teresa Rhum Orange Liqueur, and Xocolatl Mole bitters. She absolutely loved the drink, and thought it went very well with her bread pudding.
When she paid her tab, she ended up putting a shiny penny on top of her tip. She then asked me if I knew what that meant, and she shared that she had once served as Jerry Lewis’ waitress and received a $100 tip with a shiny penny on top of it. He then asked her if she knew what it meant, and she didn’t know. He told her it was a mark of exceptional service, and she decided she would continue the tradition from that point forward. That penny ended up being more meaningful than any tip I’ve received, and reflecting on this reminds me that I should carry on this tradition from this point forward.
The recipe for the Shiny Penny cocktail is:
1oz Firelit Liqueur
10z Dolin Blanc Vermouth
10z Santa Teresa Rhum Orange Liqueur
2 Dashes of Xocolatl Mole Bitters
Stirred, Orange Peel Garnish
