Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Just Cocktails


Just Cocktails
Originally uploaded by chipandandy
I was going to try for a Trifecta... Raiders of the Lost Cocktail, Mixology Monday, and Repeal Day. Not because I am lazy and only want to prepare one drink, but instead because I drink I wondered if I was up to the challenge...

I have a drink that includes includes Benedictine, qualifying for Raiders of the Lost Cocktail. And, it includes Creme de Roses, which is another ingredient lost to the sands (and livers) of time. I have a drink I suspect, but can not confirm, is a pre-prohibition recipe. The tome I found it in was published six years after Repeal Day, but the collection of recipes has got to be mostly from before and during. The style of the recipes, the ingredients used, the whole presentation, they all speak to something that survived 'the dry years.'

Lastly, I have a drink to celebrate Repeal Day that would be appropriate to the time. And even if it isn't appropriate for the time, it should be tasty enough to enjoy now.


I offer the Maiden's Kiss.
  • 1 measure Creme de Roses
  • 1 measure Curacao
  • 1 measure Maraschino
  • 1 measure Yellow Chartreuse
  • 1 measure Benedictine


There are no assembly instructions for this, but most everything in the book is shake and strain in to a cocktail glass. I see no reason why this one would be different.

Maiden's Kiss
Well, I cant offer a picture of the final drink because I had to fake some of the ingredients. The resulting cocktail was a horrible color. It tasted good, but I don't think it was what was intended. Creme de Roses is not available so I tried Rose Water. Add to that I only have Green Chartreuse, the end result was something...... different. It has a strange aftertaste that comes from the Rosewater (I think that is where it came from). The Benedictine and Chartreuse play well together each complimenting the herbal qualities of the other and the Maraschino serves to balance the floral notes. The Curacao adds to a wonderful aroma, but I don't see that it does anything specific to the drink. And, using Orange colored Curacao and adding it to Green Chartreuse, well you can imagine why I don't have a picture of the final result.

If anyone would like to offer some feedback on the Creme de Rose I would be most happy. This cocktail sounds like too much fun just to abandon because one of its ingredients is seemingly dead.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey Chip & Andy,

That's a neat little book isn't it? I recently posted about it as well at http://community.livejournal.com/scofflaws_den/10237.html.

Great blog, keep up the great work!

Cheers!

Robert Heugel said...

Haha! I tried looking around to see if I could find some additional information on creme de roses. I found quite a bit - on creme de roses facial cream that is. It looks like find some creme de roses to put in your mouth, instead of just around it would be difficult. I have heard recently of some rose-flavored liqueurs coming out, while in this market the outlook for a genuinely-flavored product is low, keep and open eye for one of those.

Anita (Married... with dinner) said...

there is a rose nectar we've tried called Sence, which is lovely. I haven't found the right cocktail for it, but I am trying. :)

I bet this one's actually a layered cordial, given the colored ingredients and the general sweetness. CocktailDB says to build pousse-cafe style, so that seems to corroborate.