tequila

Negroni Joven | for Ordinary Time

/ Paul Burkhart / Leave a comment

Recipe

All you need is 1/2 oz of each of the following:

  • Tequila Blanco
  • Tequila Reposado
  • Tequila Añejo
  • Campari
  • Amaro Averna
  • Sweet Vermouth
  • Dry Vermouth
  • Garnish: A lime twist & your favorite Summer read

Instructions: Stir with ice and serve over a large cube. Express the oils from a Lime peel over the drink and drop it in.

* * * *

Ordinary Time is the Church’s longest season, and also its quietest, most mundane. But that’s the secret of it: this is where most of life happens.  Ordinary Time (and the Church Calendar itself) is cyclical, but not static. It’s like a helix, looping back through the same motions, but always a little higher, a little deeper, than before. In fact, it’s name doesn’t mean “plain”, but comes from the word ordinal because it counts time from Pentecost.

The Negroni Joven (pronounced HO-ven) is about this sort of time. It’s named after joven tequila, a blend of aged and unaged tequila, which is exactly what Ordinary Time is for us. It’s new each year, and yet the benefits accumulate over time. So there grows a depth and richness, even in the midst of the newness, adding layers of complexity.

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Family Reunion | A Pentecost Negroni

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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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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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“O Desire of Nations” | Ambassador O’Fashioned

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

For each of the ancient “O Antiphon” prayers in this week preceding Christmas, I will be offering prayers and a variation on an Old Fashioned.

Today’s O Antiphon: “O Desire of Nations”

This is a beautiful Messianic title. Jesus is king not simply when it comes to authority and power, but also as the object of our desire and affections. And having a common desire is meant to unify, not divide. The prayer reminds us that God formed us for himself and we are not truly ourselves until we are in him. It also emphasizes the global nature of this People he has called he has called as his own.

Today’s Prayer & Scripture

O King of the Nations and their Desired One, the Cornerstone that makes us one: Come, and deliver us, whom you formed out of the dust of the earth.

The title here comes from an older translation of Haggai 2:7: “I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory”. For further reflection, you can read Isaiah 2:1-5 for a picture of the peace that God brings to the nations. Also read Ephesians 2:11-22 to see what this looks like on an interpersonal level when Christ is the cornerstone of our life together

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“O Dayspring” | Radiance O’Fashioned

/ Paul Burkhart / 1 Comment

For each of the ancient “O Antiphon” prayers in this week preceding Christmas, I will be offering prayers and a variation on an Old Fashioned.

Today’s O Antiphon: “O Dayspring” (or “Radiant Dawn” or “Dawn of the East”)

The entire premise of Advent is that we sit with the darkness of the world and our hearts, waiting with anticipation and longing for light to break through. Then, at Christmas, we joyfully celebrate that the light has come and will come again. But today, we feel the night and wait for the Radiant Dawn, tasting its light–literally. (I’m super proud of this cocktail, by the way.)

Today’s Prayer & Scripture

O Dayspring, Splendor of everlasting light and Sun of justice: come and shine on them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Isaiah 9:2: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.” All of verses 1-7 are a classic Advent text worth your time. For further reflection, read Malachi 4, the last chapter of the Old Testament, where the prophet says that “the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings”.

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