โIโm a Budweiser, guy,โ you say to yourself. โMaybe Bud Light if Iโm feeling bloatedโbut thatโs it.โ Thereโs no room for cocktails in your life, no place for fancy glassware and no way youโll ever drink anything classified as an โamaro.โ But if you grew up in France, youโd think differently. In fact, that amaro youโre so averse to would be a part of your identityโsomething that told the world youโre a tough guy, especially when mixed with beer to make a (gasp!) cocktail.
The Picon Biรจre is a simple mix of draught beer and Amer Picon (a bitter French aperitif made with oranges, gentian and cinchona), thatโs served in French cafes which usually double as bars. โThat was a blue collar drink when I was growing up,โ says Marie Tribouilloy, co-owner of Brooklynโs Ops where she serves a take on the drink comprised of CioCiaro Amaro poured into a bottle of Budweiser. โItโs an easy way to get drunk. My friends used to drink it when they wanted to be more masculine. Itโs funny for me to make it here where amaro is more elevated and subtle and feminine, and then to put it into Bud, the King of Beers.โ