Death By Aperitif

This was a brunch cocktail I threw together for the spring/summer menu for my old job at Royal Boucherie. I was actually quite proud of this at the time. That particular restaurant cited the cocktail's creator on their menu, and it was great saying, "That's my drink," when people would come in and order it. And it's great to see your name in print.

0.5 oz. London Dry Gin, Tanqueray

1 oz. Aperol

0.5 oz. Lillet Blanc

0.125 oz Absinthe (about 1 barspoon)

2.5 oz Sparkling Wine, Prosecco if available

Add all the ingredients aside from the sparkling wine to a mixing vessel. Fill a small wine glass with ice and add the sparkling wine. Dump the rest of the cocktail over the top and garnish with an orange twist. 

The cocktail combines a Death in the Afternoon and an Aperol Spritz with a little dash of French 75. Both utilize sparkling wine and are delicious midday cocktails. The herbaceous character of the liqueurs and fortified wine compliments the botanical nature of classic gin. The sweetness is light but present. This might differ from that traditional bottomless style cocktail people are used to with brunch, but a slow burn works with many brunch dishes. 

Parting Glass

This was my entry for the Copper and Kings Mixt&pe competition. Make a drink to pair with a song. I've been getting into a lot of Classic Irish Folk music. It's a wonderful blend of comedy and tragedy. I chose The Parting Glass as my song, as performed by The High Kings. It rings of a final song, a goodbye, and the joys and lamentations of one's life. My cocktail reflects this balance. Fire's being extinguished, sweetness, bitterness, and intensity

1 oz. Copper & Kings Butchertown Brandy
1/2 oz. C&K Floodwall Apple Brandy

1/2 oz. Rooibos Tea infused Honey Syrup

6 -8 drops Bitter End Moroccan Bitters

Copper & Kings Absinthe Blanche

Add the brandies, honey, and bitters to a mixing glass. Add ice and stir for 12 seconds. Rinse a small cocktail glass with the absinthe and discard. Strain the cocktail into the rinsed coupe. Light a candle and raise your glass.

To make rooibos infused heather honey syrup:

Add 12 oz. of water and 12 oz of heather honey to a saucepan. Apply light heat and stir until well mixed. Measure out 2 tablespoons of loose leaf rooibos red tea and add it to the syrup. Let the tea infuse for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and strain through a mesh filter. Store in the refrigerator.

I can't say this cocktail is one of my favorites. I think I'm going to revisit this idea soon. 

The Absinthe Lifestyle

Absinthe drinkers are the dreamers of today and yesterday.

Absinthe was the drink of the impressionist period, as well as the follow-up movements of post-impressionism, surrealism, and modernism. Degas, Gauguin, Manet, and Picasso painted absinthe in their work. Vincent Van Gogh was a ferocious absinthe drinker. The author Hemingway said, "One cup of [absinthe] took the place… of all the things he had enjoyed and forgotten and that came back to him when he tasted that opaque, bitter, tongue-numbing, brain-warming, stomach-warming, idea-changing liquid alchemy.” Idea changing, brain warming, alchemy, I like that.

Absinthe has of course been embraced by the gothic culture. Absinthe was featured in Bram Stoker's Dracula and Interview with a Vampire. Moulin Rouge featured a literal embodiment of absinthe in the green fairy, which featured Ozzy Osbourne dubbing the laugh of the character. Marilyn Manson has developed his own brand of absinthe, Mansinthe, which he has used as a base for some of his oil paintings.

There is a ritual about absinthe. A fantasy and sense of wonder surround the drink. The myths of its hallucinogenic properties still remain. Absinthe hasn't even been legal in the United States for the last ten years. The hallucinogenic properties are, of course, grossly exaggerated. It's understandable how the lore continues though. First, it's fun to scare people with that fact. Second, you're not supposed to drink it straight. You have to dilute it and guess what, it changes color! It is a bizarre chemical reaction that a casual drinker wouldn't have seen before and probably wouldn't trust. The sense of taboo about absinthe has caught on with the outcast and eccentric crowd. Dream on, paint your dreams, live your dreams, don't be scared. 

This is going to be a part of a series I'm doing about how different spirits appeal to different cultures and personalities. Check out my other posts on Whisky, Rum, Tequila, Gin, and other liquors and liqueurs. Much of what I'm posting has been opinion, much of it generalized and is not meant to be thought of as fact.

"After the first glass of absinthe you see things as you wish they were. After the second you see them as they are not. Finally, you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world."

- Oscar Wilde

Photo Credit: wikimedia