Domingo Cinzento

Grey skies, golden soul — Lisbon in a glass.

Domingo Cinzento ("Grey Sunday" in Portuguese) captures the bittersweet melancholy and cozy warmth of a rainy Lisbon Sunday — the kind where you sit by a foggy window with a ceramic cup, listening to fado drift from a neighbor's radio. Aged Portuguese brandy and ginjinha (sour cherry liqueur) bring the city's soul, while chamomile tea and honey add a gentle, indoor warmth, and a dash of mole bitters echoes the brooding, overcast sky. It's melancholic, beautiful, and deeply comforting — just like Lisbon in the rain.

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz Macieira Portuguese brandy (or other aged grape brandy)
• 0.5 oz Ginjinha (Portuguese sour cherry liqueur)
• 0.5 oz honey syrup (2:1 honey to warm water)
• 3 oz hot chamomile tea (freshly brewed, strong)
• 2 dashes mole bitters
• 0.25 oz fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1. Brew a strong cup of chamomile tea and allow it to steep for 4–5 minutes. Measure out 3 oz and keep hot.
2. In a separate small vessel, combine the brandy, ginjinha, honey syrup, lemon juice, and mole bitters.
3. Warm your glass or ceramic mug by filling it with hot water, letting it sit for 30 seconds, then discarding the water.
4. Pour the spirit mixture into the warmed glass, then gently pour the hot chamomile tea over the back of a spoon to layer it in, preserving the aroma.
5. Stir once, slowly, to integrate.
6. Express a wide lemon peel over the surface to release its oils — you'll see them shimmer on top — then drape it over the rim.
7. Skewer a dried sour cherry on a pick and rest it across the glass. Serve immediately while hot.