chartreuse

3 Trinity Cocktails for Trinity Sunday

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

Recipes

For all three drinks: stir all ingredients with ice in a mixing glass. Strain into a chilled coupe. Add the garnish. Unless specified, the numbers are in ounces.

Trinity Cocktail (1930)
– 1 Gin
– 1 Dry Vermouth
– 1 Sweet Vermouth
– Garnish with Lemon twist

Trinity Cocktail (1948)
– 2.5 Blended Scotch
– 1 Dry Vermouth
– .25 Apricot Liqueur
– .25 Creme de Menthe
– 1 dash Orange Bitters
– Express orange peel, discard
– Garnish with cherry

Sainte Trinity (Holy Trinity)
– 2 Cognac
– .66 Elderflower liqueur
– .5 Green Chartreuse
– 2 dashes Oranges bitters
– Lemon peel to express and garnish

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The first Sunday after Pentecost is known as Trinity Sunday. It was created to foster devotion and counter anti-Trinitarian heresies, so some strong, punchy drinks are in order. As I thought of this, I had in mind Michael Foley’s words in the book that inspired my entire holy day cocktail endeavor:

“The ideal cocktail honoring the Trinity would reflect the procession of the Son from the Father and the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son, with three equal ingredients made from the same ingredient, the second ingredient being derived from the first and the third derived from the first and second. And, of course, the mere taste of it would induce the Beatific Vision. But since no such concoction exists, we give you what the bartenders’ guides call a Trinity Cocktail.”

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Triduum | a Holy Weekend cocktail

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Recipe

  • 1 oz Whiskey
  • 1 oz Cognac or Brandy
  • .5 oz Gentian Amaro
  • .5 oz Green Chartreuse
  • 2 dashes Salt & Smoke Bitters
  • 2 dashes Orange Bitters
  • Garnish: 3 Olives

Strain all ingredients in mixing glass until very chilled and extra diluted (45-60 seconds). Strain into a chalice, wine glass, or coupe. Garnish with three olives on a cocktail pick.

View other Holy Day cocktails.

* * * *

I’ve been doing one cocktail for each day of Holy Week, but the three days starting with Maundy Thursday are there own special holiday, called the Paschal Triduum (the “three” days are from Thursday night to Easter morning). So I’m offering a bonus cocktail for this weekend.

This drink is boozy with an herbal sweetness, with a touch of sweetness.

Similar to my Maundy Thursday cocktail, the whiskey and cognac/brandy are for the bread and wine of Thursday. The smoke and amaro are for the darkness and blood of Friday. The chartreuse hearkens burial herbs and the quiet, restful devotion of the monks who still make it to this day. The orange bitters hint at the Easter brightness to come.

The three olives are for each day of the Triduum. They also remind us of the Mount of Olives, as well as the saltiness of tears in both the Passover meal and crucifixion witnesses.

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Foundation Cocktail (for the Feast of Peter’s Confession)

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Recipe

  • 1.5oz Dry Gin
  • 1oz Sweet Vermouth
  • .75oz Green Chartreuse
  • .5oz Olive Brine
  • 2 dashes Orange Bitters
  • 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
  • 1 dash Walnut Bitters
  • Garnish with Olive

Thematically, you should build the cocktail in the glass with the ice, but this is a lot of liquid. So the other option is to stir all ingredients in a mixing glass and pour over a large ice cube and serve the rest in a sidecar glass on the side. Garnish with an olive speared by two picks.

* * * *

And on this rock, I will build my… cocktail.

January 18 is a multi-layered date in the Christian Church calendar. Primarily, it is a feast day to celebrate the moment when Peter confesses that Jesus is the Messiah. But a lot of other things happen in this same passage that are also included in this day.

Peter gets his name changed from Simon to Peter. Catholics would say that Jesus appoints Peter as the first pope here. Jesus also says the word “church” here for the first time, as he says he will build it on this “rock” of Peter, so this is also considered the honorary birthday of the church.

Lastly, the World Council of Churches chose this feast day as an appropriate kick-off for the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. So like I said, it’s a lot, and so is this cocktail.

The drink is strong and maybe the most subtly complex drink I’ve ever made. It has a lovely progression from light saltiness in the front into a deep, quiet sweetness in the back. It’s an acquired taste, but one I’d proudly feature on a cocktail menu. So enjoy the drink while meditating on the church’s foundational moment and praying a prayer for Christian unity

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