Key West, Florida

Time to take the Around America Series as far south as humanly possible and crash Ernest Hemingway's haunts in Key West. Although the author has been dead for more than sixty years, both his home and his cocktails still hold sway over the island. 

Hemingway, himself, was a renowned drinker in his day, and at least two of his libations are considered classics. They are the Papa Doble (2 oz white rum, 3/4 oz lime juice, 1/2 oz grapefruit, 1/2 maraschino) and the Death in the Afternoon (5 oz champagne, 1 oz absinthe). In fact, because of Hemingway's influence, you will see absinthe on quite a few drink menus in the Keys (rum, too, but that's more likely because Key West is just 100 miles north of Havana- the same distance as Arena is to Milwaukee).

While in Key West, we stopped at Hemingway's house--it's now a museum--and, my friends, that made us thirsty, so we sauntered down two blocks to Blue Heaven for a drink and a bite to eat. Okay, there's something you should know when drinking in Key West- there's chickens everywhere. Chickens were brought to the island from Cuba in the mid-1800s, mainly for cockfighting and food. Once the Keys were bridged and cockfighting was outlawed, the people of Key West just simply let them wander feral. And wander they do.

Blue Heaven doesn't do a thing to prevent them from parading, pecking, and proliferating throughout the restaurant courtyard. In fact, it seems downright encouraged. If you eat there, you are likely to have a fowl visiting under your table, right between your legs!

If this occurrence makes you want a drink, Blue Heaven has you covered. I ordered Blue Heaven's version of the modern classic, London Calling. The original recipe consists of gin, sherry, lemon, and orange bitters; Blue Heaven replaces the sherry with St-Germain and lemon with lime. Using the classic recipe, I will reproduce the recipe below.

Cindy ordered a Passion Paloma, a riff off of the Mexican classic, containing Chinola passion fruit liqueur, Milagro silver tequila, grapefruit juice, and a splash of club soda). 

Now, unfortunately, I didn't get my first cocktail request; the London Calling was a backup. I intended on drinking Hemingway-style with a Root of All Evil cocktail. Sadly, we were at Blue Heaven in the midday and they had already poured out all of their special Death in the Afternoon absinthe. But the Lounge Lizards are lucky. Here, we ALWAYS have absinthe (probably like Hemingway!), so I'll recreate Blue Heaven's likely riff here as a bonus recipe.

Drink: London Calling

Establishment: Blue Heaven

Location: Key West, Florida
First Connoisseur: Holly

2 ounces gin (Blue Heaven uses Bombay Sapphire)
1/2 ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur

1/2 ounce freshly-squeezed lime juice

2 dashes orange bitters

Splash chilled club soda

Shake the first four ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled glass. Top with chilled club soda and stir gently to incorporate.

Root of All Evil

1/2 part absinthe

1/2 part Fernet Branca

2 parts chilled root beer

Build over ice in the appropriate-sized glass. Stir gently to incorporate to conserve your carbonation like the London Calling. Like Blue Heaven, garnish with mint.