PASSIONATE RATIONS

My recent trip to Pittsburgh introduced me to B&B.  No, I don’t mean “bed and breakfast,” but rather Brandy & Benedictine liquor.

Now sold as “B&B,” apparently the pairing of brandy and Benedictine herbal liquor was something of a happy accident.  One that took, apparently, considering it was quickly bottled and has been sold under the B&B label since. Those Benedictine monks sure are crafty with their alcohol.   But you already knew that.

Anyway, a colleague of mine ordered one as we sat waiting for dinner at the 1902 Tavern (yes, it was founded in and has been operating continuously since 1902.  Don’t you just love the original colonies?).  When I asked what he was drinking and then noted, once he told me, that I had never tried B&B, he insisted on ordering a mini snifter of it for me.

A pretty orange-amber hue in the twilit bar area, it was quite pleasing in aroma and flavors, reminding me of oranges pricked with cloves and hanging fragrantly along the mantlepiece at Christmastime.  Quite smooth, it went down easily.  ”A lovely drink for fall,” I thought.  And so it is.