The Golden Cadillac takes its names from a creamy cocktail made with Galliano, crème de cacao, cream and orange bitters, but that sweet concoction is hardly the only use for Galliano.
After being confined to the dusty depths of liquor shelves for decades, the gold-color Italian liqueur — which has herbal notes of star anise alongside vanilla, citrus, lavender, ginger, juniper and yarrow — is popping up on bar menus across the city.
“Galliano is on its way [back],” enthuses Eamon Rockey, the general manager at Betony, where a new cocktail made with the liqueur has been surprisingly popular.
Here, three Galliano drinks to try:
Midas Touch
$14 Betony, 41 W. 57th St.; 212-465-2400
Gold was on Rockey’s mind when he decided to make a Galliano-based cocktail for the fall menu. “It reverse-engineered itself — I started with the gold color, so everything had to be gold,” he says. He added an egg yolk, lemon, gum Arabic, Fever Tree ginger ale and bourbon, which he says “works extremely well” to offset the Galliano. The cocktail has been a sleeper hit. “It’s become a favorite with the staff and customers,” says Rockey.
Harvey Wallbanger
$11 at Huckleberry Bar, 588 Grand St., Brooklyn; 718-218-8555
There are two types of people who order the classic, oft-derided Galliano, vodka and orange juice concoction at Williamsburg’s craft-cocktail den. “There’s one camp of people who say, ‘Oh, my God — I haven’t seen one of those since 1975!’ ” says Huckleberry Bar owner Stephanie Schneider.“Then there’s the younger crowd who don’t recognize it all, but figure it’s a good drink to have on a Saturday night — because they could get some Vitamin C in the mix!”
Me and My Arrow
$12 at the JakeWalk, 282 Smith St.; 347-599-0294
Carroll Gardens’ Prohibition-themed bar serves a boozy mix of Galliano, Smith & Cross “Navy Strength” rum, lime, honey and Laphroaig whisky. “It’s been culty,” says bar manager Patrick Halloran of the cocktail, which is named after a Harry Nilsson song. “I can think of one regular for whom it is a staple — he tends to either begin or end his night with it.”