This past weekend, My good friends Ally and Dennis took the plunge into the unknown and got married. I was extremely happy for them, and was also quite honoured when they asked me to design signature cocktails for the reception and banquet. One cocktail for the bride, and one for the groom.
Bluebird of Happiness
Ally is partial to vodka, and so for her cocktail I dove into W.J. Tarling’s, 1937 Cafe Royal Cocktail Book, and selected a serving of Tarling’s called Blue Bird. The recipe mixes Vodka, Cointreau, and Lemon Juice in a 2:1:1 ratio and then adds 3 dashes of Maraschino and 3 dashes of Blue Extract for colour.
For the wedding celebration, the recipe required only one tweak to make it easier to construct. I replaced the Cointreau and Blue Extract (food colouring) for Bols Blue (Triple Sec). Bols Blue has a very nice orange flavour which is quite similar to Cointreau however, it carries a lower alcohol content making it quite suitable for a large gathering where not everyone wants a full strength cocktail.
This is Allie’s Cocktail: I call it, the Bluebird of Happiness.
Bluebird of Happiness
1 1/2 oz Vodka
3/4 oz Bols Blue (Triple Sec)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3 dashes (about 1/8 oz) Luxardo Maraschino
ice
Lemon Garnish
Add the first four Ingredients into a cocktail Shaker with ice
Shake until the sides frost
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Garnish with thin slice of lemon
Enjoy Responsibly!
If you are interested in more of my cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!
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Note: I will be publishing Dennis’ cocktail in a few days.
You may follow these links for my published reviews of Bols Blue and Luxardo Maraschino.
Chimo!
I chose to call my new libation The Asylum, which is not only a reference to a place which might contain a section called Ward 8 (the original cocktail of inspiration), it also pays homage to another of my favourite writers (and a Canadian to boot), A.E. Van Vogt. His short story Asylum (Astounding Science Fiction, May 1942) was written during the Golden Aged of Science Fiction (which A.E. Van Vogt is often credited with ushering into existence with his short story Black Destroyer).
The August meteor shower is a result of the periodic comet named Swift-Tuttle (discovered independently by Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle in 1862) which last made an appearance in our night sky in 1992. The left over debris from its comet-tail crosses the earth’s orbit, and it is the earth’s atmosphere crashing into this debris (bits of ice and space dust) which provides the fuel for streaks of meteoric light in the dark night sky.
The story is based upon a real life incident in which Bradbury was questioned by police while taking a stroll with a friend in an area not often frequented by pedestrians. More importantly, this story is generally thought by literary critics to be the genesis of Ray Bradbury’s acclaimed novel, Fahrenheit 451.
For my take on the serving I made two substitutions. First I subbed out the grenadine in favour of my own Cran-Raspberry Syrup (
The Rum Howler Blog 