Whenever anybody asks me for a cocktail bar recommendation in NYC, the NoMad Bar is always on the list. It’s easy to get to, has tons of seating, and I’ve never had a bad drink there.
In fact, I’ve had many really good drinks there.
Or at least, that used to be the case. It closed a few years ago, and despite multiple visits, the Vegas in the NoMad Hotel at Park MGM just isn’t the same.
Despite that, when I saw that Leo Robitschek had written the Nomad Cocktail Book – I knew I instantly needed it.
Fortunately, Christmas was right around the corner, and lo and behold, can you guess what was under the tree?
Yep, the NoMad.
Ok, not the whole hotel – that would be silly.
Upon getting home last night, I immediately wanted to dive in.
While I have a very fairly extensive booze collection, in books like these 9 times out of 10 there’s some obscure ingredient, or component that needs to be concocted, before you can successfully make the drink.
But after perusing for 10 minutes, I stumbled upon the Repossession cocktail, which sounded like a smoky tequila sour, and exactly the kind of drink I was in the mood for.
In a quick online search, it looks like this was originally a drink that was created by Leo for the renowned Eleven Madison Park restaurant, which makes sense since it is under the same ownership group as the old NoMad.
All that did was get me even more excited.
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How to Make a Repossession Cocktail
Now, amontillado sherry, which is the star of the show here, is not normally something I have on hand. However, fortunately being the holidays I picked up a bottle of it to make Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s world famous egg nog – which may be the best holiday cocktail of all time.
The recipe for the Repossession is below, but it’s a mixture of cane sugar, lemon juice, apricot liqueur, amontillado sherry, reposado tequila, and a few sprays of mezcal from an atomizer.
Being that I decided to make this thing on a whim, I had to make do with what I had on hand.
I used regular simple syrup rather than cane syrup, I used a different amontillado sherry rather than Los Altos, and I used El Jimador Anejo rather than the reposado it called for.
I’ll make it again soon and update with closer ingredients, but I’m happy to report that even with these substitutions I was treated to a delicious and refined cocktail.
I haven’t personally made a ton of sherry cocktails but the two things that surprised me the most were:
- How much the amontillado sherry shined through. This was the star of the show, and the most prominent flavor – adding a smoky and earthy element that I loved.
- It wasn’t as sweet as I anticipated. It was only a quarter ounce of simple syrup, but usually, I expect anything with the apricot to have some sweeter elements, but it was just enough sweetness to balance out the acidity from the lemon, and add an extra layer to the dry sherry.
I was surprised the tequila didn’t shine through more, but I’m guessing that is due to the more mellow anejo rather than the called for reposado.
Overall, this is 100% a cocktail I will make again. It had more complexity than expected and was a nice change of pace from what I usually make.
Who Should You Make the Nomad Repossession Cocktail For?
So who is the right person to make this cocktail for? And when should you make it?
Well this is perfect for the person who likes a whiskey sour, or even a margarita.
Chances are the sherry will throw them off a little bit, as it’s certainly drier than a margarita – but the citrus flavor and unique combo of smoke and earth should be a crowd-pleaser.
Just make sure who you’re making it for is ok with a little bit of smokiness. Even just the few sprays from the atomizer gives it a very smoky nose that can turn off people who aren’t into that kind of drink. But for those that are? Make them a Smokescreen after this.
Check out my full review of the NoMad Cocktail Book.
The NoMad Cocktail Book hits that perfect balance of wildly unique drinks, that are still accessible for home bartenders to make at home. There are some simple classics, and some that are more involved, and it's this balance that makes it one of my favorite cocktail books out there.
Equipment
- Cocktail Shaker
- Chinois
- Hawthorne Strainer
- Big Cube
Ingredients
- 1 oz Reposado Tequila
- .75 oz Amontillado Sherry
- .5 oz Apricot Liqueur
- .5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- .25 oz Cane Syrup I used demerara
- 6 Sprays Mezcal From atomizer
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except mezcal into shaker
- Shake and double strain over a big cube into a double rocks glass
- Spray mezcal from atomizer
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