Purple Heaven

It was a sad weekend here in the FWL as all the lizards draped in purple, mourning the loss of Prince, assauged our tears in a viewing of the movie Purple Rain. It was a fabulous reminder of what Prince actually stood for beyond the music; the right for everyone to eat, drink, make love, and listen to music without anyone stopping you because they don’t want you to. Censorship is the death of emotion; the authority’s way of making your life vanilla in order to ‘protect’ you from yourself. We like to drink cocktails. Prince didn’t. Prince liked to be ambiguous gender-wise. We don’t. The point is that it doesn’t matter. We loved Prince for not caring what people thought. It was the definition of freedom.

Sadly, it was Prince’s song Darling Nikki that Tipper Gore and her pseudo-Nazi troop of prohibitionists (Parents Music Resource Center) placed at #1 of their ‘Filthy 15’songs of the early ‘80s that began modern-day music censorship. Gore didn’t like that her daughter was listening to a song that included masturbation and promptly decided that it wasn’t good for anyone else’s children either. Gore targeted a Def Leppard and a Black Sabbath song in the Filthy 15 because they ‘glorified the use of alcohol.’ Gore demanded the Senate hold the ‘porn rock’ hearings and soon after the Parental Advisory Sticker was born. Stores quickly refused to sell the Purple Rain album (the album that included Darling Nikki). The result is that Gore communicated that music, alcohol, and sex are repulsive, dirty, and shameful...and at the same time intoxicatingly alluring. This is the worst of all worlds. Thankfully, Prince and his ilk fought it with every fiber of their being.

We know that Prince would never drink the cocktail that we have crafted in his memory, but we know he’d love the idea of it. It’s creative, beautiful, and a cousin of the Aviation, the drink named after the freedom of the blue skies it resembles. Our version, brings the Creme de Violette strong, filling the cocktail flush with the color that Prince loved so much, the color of rock royalty.

Purple Heavens (Holly’s Original Series)

2 ounces gin (we used Hendrick’s)

½ ounce freshly-squeezed lemon juice

½ ounce creme de violette

Dash of cranberry bitters (citrus bitters will sub)

Add all ingredients in an iced mixing glass, stir and strain into the most fabulous coupe you own (or not, be free!). Garnish with lemon peel if you wish. We would suggest that you drink the Purple Heavens to some song or movie that would piss off Tipper...and make Prince smile wherever he is.

Red Hook

Even though we never think it necessary for a reason to mix drinks, we have a gaggle of reasons to post tonight. One, we have a new sophisticated look to the Lounge that we think that the Lizards will like. We think it’s classy and easy-on-the-eyes, not to mention a more modern feel. Two, it’s New York primary night, so we were thinking that you might want a cocktail that will usher in the ‘new.’ Remember, four of the five boroughs of New York have their own time-honored cocktail based on the venerable Manhattan. In 2004, one of the Big Apple’s most popular but currently defunct cocktail bars, Milk and Honey, birthed the Red Hook cocktail which is christened after the Brooklyn neighborhood of the same name. The Red Hook instantly grabbed the title of modern classic.

A mixture of rye, punt e mes, and maraschino, the Red Hook is as distinguished as his grandfather the Manhattan, yet speaks to the 21st century palate in a challenging way that can bring a new cocktail drinker into an emerging amaro age. To belabor the point, usually if you had a drink that was 1/6th maraschino, we would ask you to check the recipe; maraschino is like peach schnapps, usually less is more. Not for the Red Hook though, if you use a good rye, the punt e mes balances the maraschino. They play so well together, the original Red Hook goes garnish-less. If, perhaps the maraschino is a bit sweet for you (I’m looking at you, Stoefflers), do NOT change the recipe. Instead, add just a swath of lemon peel and enjoy. You’ll thank us later.

Red Hook
Classic Pour

2 ounces rye (we used Michters)

½ ounce Punt e Mes

½ ounce Maraschino

Place all ingredients in an iced mixing glass. Stir for 30 revolutions. Strain into a coupe or cocktail glass.

Boston, Part 3

After spending the better part of the day wandering Boston’s Freedom Trail in the hot sun, we ventured back to Quincy Market for some late night chow.  Lucky for us, most of the market’s restaurants were open, which still granted us a wide variety of fare. Sated, we went back to the hotel to freshen up a bit and contemplate whether we should hit the town once more before going back to Wisconsin. Obviously (since I’m writing Part III), that contemplation ended in a willing but measured affirmative.

Boston, Part 2

At the end of our last post, we had just left Drink, the warehouse cellar of mixology, and was immediately assaulted by the coarse Atlantic air, now a brisk 50-something degrees and whipping. Cindy had a lead on a bar and bartender at the Ritz-Carlton; luckily, the bar is known for its blazing eye-level fireplace, unluckily, it was still a mile walk away! Comforted by the fact that we are Wisconsinites still acclimated to continental old-man-winter, we sauntered down Altantic Avenue and up Essex to the Ritz’s bar, the Avery.