Raiders of the Lost Cocktail 2
Editor’s Note: Please welcome our Guest Writer, Anita Crotty from Married with Dinner.
Yours truly has been anointed the winner of the inaugural Raiders of the Lost Cocktail challenge, and therefore the decider of this month’s challenge ingredient. But please, don’t be too impressed by my gold-medal status: I was the only entrant who actually followed the rules. Of course, the scanty turnout might just could possibly sorta have been due to the relative obscurity of the target ingredient and the mysterious lack of published Strega recipes.
So in the spirit (hardy-har) of opening up the challenge to wider participation, let me propose a slightly more-mixable subject: Benedictine. It fits the bill quite neatly: A widely available product that has been known to gather dust, but one that well deserves a broader audience.
Like the now-trendy Chartreuse, Benedictine began its life behind abbey walls, the proprietary elixir of the monastic order that shares its name. A sweetened cognac base infused with 27 secret herbs and spices the Colonel has nothing on those monks! — amber-hued Benedictine conjures up a set of heavenly flavors and aromas. It’s also the kind of spirit that makes curmudgeonly drinkers (and drink-makers) giddy. Here’s David Embury waxing poetic on the subject in The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks :
One of the oldest and best of all liqueurs, highly aromatic, and having a base of the finest cognac. It is made with consummate skill and is thoroughly aged. There are few liqueurs in the world that can compare with it.
Indeed, its balance and complexity has kept Benedictine from ever falling completely out of fashion. Although sales of herbal liqueurs rapidly declined after Prohibition, most every cocktail book in our library boasts at least one recipe for this concoction. Certainly, it’s no stranger in our home parish: On our own blog, we’ve mixed up no less than four recipes bearing the blessed tipple: The Pegu Club’s Prince of Wales variation, a post-Mixology Monday stab at the Cabaret, our friend Erik’s guest-sermon on Bobby Burns, plus last Friday’s very Widow’s Kiss.
One last word of warning, my children, before you venture forth in the world: Be not led astray. As the reverend Dr. Bamboo wisely cautions, the labeling of premixed B&B appears nearly identical to that of the pure liqueur. The wise man seeketh the right label.
Go now, and mix some more.
Editor’s Note: So there you have it, folks, the gaunlet has been thrown. Interested in taking part in the challenge? You have until November 30th to get your submissions in (submit by commenting on this post). Good luck!
It’s probably worth reiterating the guidelines again:
* Each month, the [previous month’s winner] will select a cocktail ingredient, which is accessible but not currently in vogue.
* Each month, readers are invited and challenged to scour all published sources (old books, new books, red books, blue books… plus magazines, databases, matchbook covers) to find worthy cocktails that use this ingredient, and potentially merit revival and rediscovery.
* Entries must be previously published recipes, and include recipe, source, author, and when possible date of publication.
* Recipes don’t have to be unique to that publication.
* Entries will be judged on overall quality and appeal.
* Preference will be extended toward recipes which use relatively common ingredients, thus allowing this recipe to be prepared at a wider majority of bars.
* Preference will be extended toward recipes which are “simpler” in nature (i.e., fewer ingredients without a complicated or burdensome construction)
The winner will be chosen by consensus judgment of the TSW staff.
Prizes are modest. The winner will be given the opportunity to choose the next month’s spirit, and (if desired), a guest spot in an upcoming TSW article (as either author or subject).