The Very Black Widow

(Vesper Bar)

No one does anything conventionally in Sin City, so it's not surprise that the friendly bartenders at Vesper Bar at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas have come up with a decidedly different way to celebrate St. Patty's Day in style. The Black Widow combines Italian amaro with porter and whipped cream for a sweetly bitter cocktail that drinks like a meal, is black like an investment banker's soul and delivers a hefty dose of chocolate, bitter herbs and a deeply satisfying “chew.” Sure, it's not green and swilling it all day long would likely make you go blind, but for the more sophisticated St. Patrick's Day reveler, it's like manna from heaven.

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Servings: 1

Ingredients:

1.5 Oz. Fernet Branca

Deschutes Black Butte Porter (or other heavy duty Porter of choice)

Whipped Cream

Preparation:

Combine the Fernet Branca and the Porter into a chilled beer tulip, then give it a stir and pour the whipped cream over the top. Homemade is the best, of course, but what goes on between you and a can Reddi-Wip is your own business. At the Vesper Bar, a dusting of cocoa powder in the shape of the drink's namesake gets floated over top of the drink as well.