Cocktail Spotlight: The Michigander

The Michigander. Created by Jason Schiffer. Available now at 320 Main.

The Michigander's main 
ingredients: Cynar and 
Laird's Straight Apple Brandy.

In our previous post we introduced you to our sizzling new fall appetizer, the Pork Belly Medallions. Today we give you the perfect drink to pair it with: the Michigander. The fall season and its onslaught of holidays inevitably causes one to think of home. Home for 320 Main owner Jason Schiffer is Michigan. “I went through a time where I was missing home,” explains Jason of how this drink came to be. “My favorite time of year is fall. I get nostalgic about the chill in the air, the earthiness of burning leaves and the sweet smells of apple cider.” This is the basis from which the Michigander was created.

Jason is very visual when it comes to creating drinks. When creating the Michigander he wanted to mimic the deep fruity and contrasting earthy elements of fall in Michigan. He began with Laird's Straight Apple Brandy 100 proof. Laird's Apple Brandy is Bottled in Bond, which means it was produced in one distillations season, by one distiller, at one distillery and it was aged in a federally bonded warehouse under US government supervision for at least 4 years. Why is this important to you? Because it is a government guarantee that you are getting 100% straight brandy. Jason then added an Italian liquor called Cynar. Made of 13 different herbs and spices including artichoke, Cynar gives the drink a slightly bitter richness. To that Jason added honey, lemon and finally a grapefruit twist. The result is truly delectable and warming to your insides. It's the next best thing to fall in Michigan. A good friend of Jason’s, Ereich Empey, says this about the drink, “At its' heart a rather simplistic drink, with tons of flavor laying throughout, the Michigander is followed by complexity and depth on account of the ingredients.” [Musings on Cocktails]