Few pubs in Melbourne can nudge the Espy at aperitivo hour. When the sun starts dipping over the bay, the bars and restaurants in St Kilda’s historic Esplanade Hotel make ideal spots to snack, sip a cocktail and work up an appetite before dinner, which is what aperitivo hour is all about. Of course, if senior assistant venue manager Daniel Lovett had to choose, he’d take his ideal aperitivi a little further afield.

“My real love in terms of aperitivo comes from Spain,” he says. “I’m a big fan of Barcelona and their vermouths. You just travel around … to be honest, ‘aperitivo’ is a weird way of putting it, because you never actually get to dinner. It’s just a little pintxos and a little vermouth, and then on to the next place.”

But if you can’t make it to Barcelona (or the Espy), it shouldn’t be too much of a challenge to host your own aperitivo hour at home. All you need is a cocktail and a crunchy snack, and you’re set.

A perfect aperitivo pairing

Tradition suggests that aperitivo cocktails are easygoing spritzes or bittersweet, boozy mixed drinks like the classic Negroni – but they certainly don’t have to be. With his Butter Old Fashioned cocktail recipe, Lovett is leaning into a silky smooth style that blends the richness of brown-butter-washed bourbon with zippy balsamic bitters. The result is a deeply flavoured aperitivo cocktail that’s much simpler to make than it looks.

“This is really about being able to have a bit of fun at home,” he says. “What seems on the surface like more complicated techniques, like fat-washing, are actually incredibly simple to pull off if you've got just a little bit of patience and prep.”

That prep starts with browning butter and combining it with bourbon before freezing.

“Then a bit of magic will happen overnight. You’ll come in and see your butter solids just compact at the top there, and all you’ve got to do is skim that off – and, if you’re so inclined, chuck it on toast for a nice, boozy breakfast. But what you’re going to be left with is a really rich bourbon that’s picked up a little bit of dairy and a little bit of roundness.”

After the fat-washing, all you really need to do is put it all together.

“Preparation is the key to making any good bevvy,” Lovett says. “Grab a mixing glass, chuck your demerara sugar in there, a couple of dashes of your balsamic bitters, and then add your gorgeous, fat-washed bourbon. Then you’re just going to really churn it over, introduce all those elements. And what you’re looking for is a glassy, thick finish.”

From there, simply pour your cocktail over ice and serve – ideally alongside a crisp aperitivo snack like the Red Rock Deli, Cheddar & Parmesan Deli Style Crackers. “Sometimes with pairings you want to cut and contrast, but sometimes you want to go like for like,” Lovett says. “And this one, it was just about indulgence.”

Daniel Lovett’s Butter Old Fashioned

Makes 1 serving. Approx. 1.9 standard drinks.

Ingredients:

1 tsp demerara sugar syrup (or 1 sugar cube)

2 dashes balsamic bitters (or aromatic bitters with a small splash of aged balsamic vinegar)

1 large ice cube or sphere

60ml brown-butter-washed bourbon

Orange peel, for garnish

Red Rock Deli Cheddar & Parmesan Deli Style Crackers, to serve

Brown butter-washed bourbon

50g unsalted butter

200ml bourbon

Method:

To make the brown butter-washed bourbon, melt unsalted butter in a pan over medium heat, stirring until it turns golden and smells nutty. Cool slightly, then combine with bourbon in a jar. Leave at room temperature for 2 hours, then freeze overnight. The solidified butter lifts right off the top, leaving you with beautifully rich, fat-washed bourbon.

When you’re ready to make the cocktail, add the sugar syrup (or cube) and balsamic bitters to a chilled rocks glass and give it a quick stir.

Add the large ice cube, then pour over the brown-butter-washed bourbon. Stir gently for about 20 seconds to dilute and chill.

Peel a strip of orange zest, give it a twist over the glass to express the oils, then run it around the rim and drop it in.

Serve with the Red Rock Deli Style Crackers on the side.

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Red Rock Deli.