Tonight’s drink comes with a tip of the hat to Rick at Kaiser Penguin, who is hosting this month’s Mixology Monday with the theme, Limit: One. Thanks to this theme, Rick has created an event that is guaranteed to be followed by “Hangover Tuesday.”
When in the need of a cocktail that comes in heavy, you have two options that are pretty safe, if such a word can be used in this situation: go with the rum-soaked goodness of tiki; or, reach for the green stuff*. Me, I’m fond of both, but considering our host and the eager participation of Blair and Craig, I was sure tiki would be well represented for this round. Just to be a contrarian, I’m reaching for the absinthe tonight.
Before you take a glimpse at the recipe and gag in disbelief, hear me out: this drink actually kind of works. Sweet? Oh, yeah — part of the reason you’d only want one — but the redeeming factors in the Weeper’s Joy far outweigh, in my mind, this detraction.
Consider this: between the absinthe, the vermouth and the kummel, you’ve got, what, a few dozen botanicals in the drink. So is it really that different from something like a Widow’s Kiss (which it resembles somewhat in terms of flavor intensity and its presentation of the taste of antiquity) or — okay, I’ll write the name one more time — the Flower Power Martini? And as for the horsepower: I’m not doing the math to see if this fits under the “3 oz. of 80-proof or higher booze” requirement Rick laid out, but anything with an ounce of absinthe in it comes on like a bucket full of knuckles.
This drink — originated by “The Only William” Schmidt
Weeper’s Joy, using Wondrich’s updated measurements from IMBIBE!
- 1 ounce absinthe
- 1 ounce vino vermouth [I used Carpano Antica, to toss a little extra bitterness in the mix]
- 1 ounce Kummel
- 1/2 teaspoon simple syrup
- 2 dashes curacao
Stir well with lots of ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
As Wondrich notes, you can leave out the simple syrup to cut back on the sweetness, but it does bring a fuller mouthfeel to the drink.
This Mixology Monday is brought to you by Gilka Kummel, the official spirit of Kaiser Penguin. Be sure to head over to Rick’s place to see how everyone else weighed in this round.
* OK, so I used a blanche absinthe instead of a verte. Poetic license and all; deal with it.
Well Paul, why not have an Annual Soused Book Award?
Run it as a once a year blog carnival. Have cocktail bloggers and interested others put up a post of their personal nominee, (copyright, the prior calendar year) during the first week of April. Then do a round up post, like MxMo, and run an online poll through the rest of the month.
The winning author would get fame, and if not fortune, then at least some pretty good book sales!