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www.cheersonline.com 12 • March/April 2017 WHAT I'M WHAT I'M WHA Brandy Cross LEAD BARTENDER AT EASY BISTRO & BAR IN CHATTANOOGA, TN Lately, I've been trying to make more cocktails at home. I love making a simple Rum Old Fashioned. I fi nd it is a bit lighter than a bourbon Old Fashioned, and it's the perfect drink for spring. They are also incredibly easy to make, and you can use any rum—whatever your preference. To prepare, muddle a sugar cube with a couple dashes of oranges bitters, and then topping that with 2 oz. of rum (Mount Gay is what I currently have at home). Stir it all together in a glass, with a lime peel expression to top it off. It's so easy and perfectly delicious! Promoting Rosé the Pantone way Although the growing popularity of rosé is making it a year-round wine, it's when spring rolls around that many guests start to think pink. That's why Loa bar at the International House hotel in New Orleans came up with a fresh way to menu rosé by taking a page from color authority Pantone. Loa's creative director and "spirit handler" Alan Walter created the Long Days of Rosé wine menu using two dozen shades of pink Pantone squares, each corresponding to a different bottle of rosé. The name of the wine runs along the bottom of the color square; the wine's country of origin is printed vertically along the right side of the square. The special rosé selections span the globe, from Sonoma to Spain, Priorat to Provence. Loa offers three featured rosés a day, which are highlighted on the menu with a lipstick kiss print. The Long Days of Rosé menu launched in mid April and will run through the summer. The wines are priced at $10 a glass, $12 for a fl ight of three and $42 a bottle. Below, Walter shares fi ve rosés he's excited about drinking this year. 1) Ameztoi "Rubentis" Getariako Txakolina, Spain, 2016 Txakolina, pronounced CHA-ko-LEE-nah, is the Basque region of Northern Spain where this extraordinarily refreshing, light-as-a-feather rosé is pro- duced. Wild strawberry and melon fl avors with a tingly effervescence make this a cheerful wine to sip as an aperitif, or pair with any kind of seafood. 2) La Spinetta, Il Rosé di Casanova, Tuscany, Italy, 2016 This wine gets attention for the rhinoceros on its label, but what's inside the bottle is as fresh and delicate as a petal, with a complex bouquet of stone fruits and crystalline minerals. Flavors of unripe peach, chalk and salt. Made from a blend of sangiovese and prugnolo gentile. 3) Clos Cibonne Tibouren, Cru Classé Côtes de Provence, France, 2015 A fascinating wine made from a rare, native grape called tibouren, grown on slopes facing the sea, and aged in giant, 100 year-old, foudres (large wooden vats) under a thin veil of native yeast called afl eurette. Aromatic and fresh with lively fruit and saline notes. 4) Lioco Indica Rosé, Mendocino County, CA, 2016 This pretty lady is made from dry-farmed carignan, whole-cluster pressed and aged in stainless steel, boasting aromas and fl avors of watermelon, lime leaf and lemongrass. There's a reason this wine is sought after by rosé lovers every single year: It is consistently delightful. 5) Mas de Daumas Gassac Rosé Frizante, Languedoc, France, 2016 Could this be the happiest wine in the world? Bursting with springtime freshness and glowing neon pink, this is a rosé of mostly young vine cabernet sauvignon, from an excellent producer of fi eld blends in southern France. A joyous fi zz with fl avors of watermelon rind, fresh lemon, strawberry and wet grass. DRINK CULTURE