scotch

Family Reunion | A Pentecost Negroni

/ Paul Burkhart / Leave a comment

Recipe

  • ½ oz Rye Whiskey (USA)
  • ½ oz Tequila Blanco (Mexico)
  • 1 oz Suze (French Amaro)
  • ½ oz Carpano Antica (Italian Sweet Vermouth)
  • ½ oz Ruby Port (Portugal)
  • ¼ oz Islay Scotch (Scotland – floated on top)
  • Flamed Orange Peel Garnish

Stir all ingredients except the Scotch with ice and strain into a rocks glass over a large cube. Gently float the Islay Scotch over the top by pouring it over the back of a spoon. Flame an orange peel over the glass, express its oils, and drop it in.

* * * *

Happy Birthday, Church! It is now Pentecost, the day that God’s own Spirit filled God’s own people, crossing language, boundaries, cultures, and nationalities to create one new united family. In the tongues of fire and language, God reversed the story of the Tower of Babel.

That’s the heart of this Negroni, Family Reunion. It’s built from spirits scattered across the world: American rye, Mexican tequila, French Suze, Italian vermouth, Portuguese port, and a smoky Scotch from the far edge of Scotland. It’s a drink that doesn’t pretend the differences aren’t there but lets them all sit in the glass together. Each part keeps its accent, but together they have an incredibly unity.

The drink itself leans earthy and complex. The rye brings structure, the tequila adds depth, and the Suze’s golden gentian bitterness contributes an interesting mid-note to the flavors. The Carpano Antica and the Ruby Port round it out with deep, red sweetness, like the shared wine of communion: one cup, many vineyards. Lastly, the Islay Scotch float and the flamed orange peel garnish image the tongues of fire hovering over those first Christians.

This drink is Pentecost in miniature. But this is not a quick or delicate Negroni. It’s heavier, slower, more reflective. The kind of drink that doesn’t mind being passed around, that tastes different each time you come back to it. It’s the flavor of the Church at her best — many voices, one Spirit, the family gathered again around the same table drinking from the Common Cup of God’s grace.

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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

* * * *

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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Pentecost Cocktail | A Holy Day Drink

/ Paul Burkhart / Leave a comment

Recipe (this one’s a doozy)
NOTE: This recipe is in PARTS, not ounces. Please be wise.

  • .75 gin
  • .5 vodka
  • .5 brandy
  • .5 light rum
  • .5 blended scotch
  • .5 irish whiskey
  • .5 tequila
  • .25 rye
  • .5 apricot liqueur
  • .25 raspberry liqueur
  • 3 dashes cinnamon bitters (or 1 tsp Fireball — trust me on this)
  • .25 oz Absinthe and .125 oz Green Chartreuse for float
  • Lemon Peel, expressed and as garnish

Stir all ingredients (except the ingredients for the float) in a mixing glass until VERY chilled and diluted. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Express the lemon peel over the drink and garnish with the peel.

* * * *

Today is Pentecost, which is all about the Holy Spirit descending and indwelling Christians, creating unity out of a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual group of people. So, I wanted to create a cocktail that had as many “spirits” from as many regions as possible (get it?).

I ended up doing a riff on the strongest known cocktail in the world, the Aunt Roberta Cocktail (really neat history behind that drink, by the way). It has 12 ingredients (the symbolism gets a little nuts here), and what came out was an even stronger drink that is surprisingly balanced and soft for all that’s in it.

Seriously, give this a try. It will be worth your time and effort. It is one drink, with many parts. And it is beautiful.

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