Have you heard about the latest cocktail, the Quarantini? It鈥檚 a regular martini, except you drink it alone.
Drinking in quarantine sounds awful, but it doesn鈥檛 have to be. In fact, it鈥檚 a great time to try some new drinks.
A wine enthusiast in Germany 500 years ago wrote a treatise called The Art of Drinking. The author, , offers to teach us his total system鈥攈is special tricks, hacks, and algorithms鈥攆or enjoying alcoholic drinks sustainably and with discrimination.
And suitably enough for our times, his very first piece of advice is that . It beats going out to bars or clubs or pubs because it鈥檚 a great chance to reconnect with your significant other. He hammers that point home repeatedly.
In that spirit, here are six delicious cocktails I got to know well while researching Obsopoeus鈥� Art of Drinking as How to Drink.
An ancient Roman proverb holds that 鈥淓veryone should practice the art that they know best鈥� (Quam quisque norit artem, in hac se exerceat).
In that spirit, I鈥檝e tapped a few family recipes from my hometown of New Orleans, where my research really began. In this time of social distancing, it鈥檚 a great time to try or get reacquainted with them all.
1.
An Old Fashioned never goes out of style, and I鈥檒l always take one of those. But given a choice, I鈥檓 a big fan of this variant, the official cocktail of New Orleans (and, some say, the first American cocktail of all). Here鈥檚 what you鈥檒l need, :
Ingredients
50 ml Cognac
10 ml Absinthe
1 Sugar Cube
2 Dashes Peychaud鈥檚 Bitters
Rinse a chilled old-fashioned glass with the absinthe, add crushed ice and set it aside. Stir the remaining ingredients over ice in a mixing glass. Discard the ice and any excess absinthe from the prepared glass, strain the mixed drink into the glass. Garnish with lemon zest.
2.
Local lore鈥攊t could be true鈥攃redits New Orleans with this one, too. A fantastic brunchtime drink, it鈥檚 delicious but it takes a bit of work, so it pays to make more than one at a time. Be forewarned that it includes raw egg. (It鈥檚 also fattening as hell, but isn鈥檛 everything that tastes good?)
Ingredients
- 1陆 ounces
- 1陆 ounce lime juice
- 陆 ounce lemon juice
- 1录 ounces
- 2 ounces
- 1 small
- 2 dashes fleurs d鈥檕range (orange flower water)
- 1 ounce club soda (more or less to taste)
Steps to Make It
Gather the ingredients.
- In a filled with ice, pour the gin, lemon and lime juices, simple syrup, cream, egg white, and fleurs d鈥檕range.
- Dry shake without ice.
- Fill the shaker with ice. (more than normal to ensure the egg and cream are well mixed and the drink is silky).
- into a chilled .
- Top with club soda.
- Serve and enjoy!
3. Pimm鈥檚 Cup
This one鈥檚 another huge favorite in NOLA, where it鈥檚 always hot and muggy. It鈥檚 a delicious gin-based aperitif mixed with lemonade, akin to a , and it takes the edge right off the day. It鈥檒l be perfect if we鈥檙e all still stuck indoors when the weather warms where you live, too. The popular place to get one in New Orleans is the Napoleon House. In the meantime, here鈥檚 :
- Fill a tall 12 oz glass with ice and add 1录 oz. and 3 oz lemonade.
- Then top off with 7up.
- Garnish with cucumber.
4. Boom Boom
This one鈥檚 a family recipe passed down by the Cajun matriarchs of my clan, and a perennial winner at Mardi Gras parties. It鈥檚 an icy treat you eat with a spoon. The official instructions read as follows:
In a giant bowl add the following, stir, and freeze for about 24 hours:
- 1 small can of frozen orange juice thawed
- two liter bottle of Sprite or Mountain Dew (or something like that鈥攍emon lime)
- 1 large can of pineapple juice
- 1鈥�2 cups of vodka (the cheaper the vodka, the better)
5. (in Latin, elixir deorum)
If you鈥檝e ever been to Bourbon Street, you鈥檝e seen partygoers clutching neon green hand-grenade shaped flasks. The shape is appropriate, since this one鈥檚 thermonuclear. The Hand Grenade is locally hailed as New Orleans鈥� Most Powerful Drink, and it鈥檚 hard to disagree. Somehow, though, the sweet melon flavoring masks all the alcohol. The recipe鈥檚 a closely guarded secret, so you鈥檒l need to mail order the mix and cups to get it鈥攁nd proceed with caution.
6. Milk Punch
A hangover (in Latin, crapula) is no fun. I鈥檝e never been a hair-of-the-dog type, but those who are swear that milk punch is the perfect cure to chase one away. The iconic restaurant makes a delicious version. To make yours , you鈥檒l need:
- 2 oz. milk
- 2 oz. cream
- 1陆 oz. bourbon whiskey or brandy
- 1陆 oz. vanilla bean-infused simple syrup
- Freshly ground nutmeg, for garnish
Combine first four ingredients over ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a coupe or wine glass with no ice. Garnish with nutmeg. Yields 1 cocktail.