Mozart’s no spring chicken — he’s turning 260 this month! — but his work retains a youthful freshness everyone can enjoy (and envy…). I’ve concocted a youthful cocktail to swig alongside the Big Bad Wolfie’s most effervescent music. (We’ll drown our sorrows in the the D-minor Piano Concerto and the Requiem another day…)
The drink is several years and many tipsy evenings in the making. In fact, we originally intended to pair the drink recipe with the release of our album, An Amadeus Affair. But just as playing Mozart’s music takes years of refinement, so does crafting the perfect tipple to compliment his sonic whirl of intrigue, scandal, exhilaration, and mischief.
I drew inspiration from the following quotes while rustling up the ingredients for “The Amadeus Affair”:
“Mozart is happiness before it has gotten defined.”
— Arthur Miller
Happiness = effervescence & sparkle = sugar & soda water!
“Does it not seem as if Mozart’s works become fresher and fresher the oftener we hear them?”
— Robert Schumann
A perky and fresh spring day = tarragon, with its licorice-like, peppery scent. (Besides, is it just me, or does tarragon scream, “MOZART!?")
“When you play Mozart, it’s so clean, it’s so simple. It’s the body naked.”
— Gustavo Dudamel
Cleanliness = lemon; see the article “24 things you can clean with a lemon” for evidence.
“An astonishing number of kisses are flying about! I see a whole crowd of them. Ha! Ha! I have just caught three — they are delicious… I kiss you millions of times.”
— Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, to his wife Constanza
In all forms of art, romance and love are often symbolized by flowers. Gin is the most floral spirit, and elderflower is the most intoxicating of scents… yum!
To tie it all together, I added two drops of absinthe to account for Mozart’s token dash of the unexpected, his latent wild side. (Speaking of which, click here for an NSFW link showcasing the true extent of Mozart’s wild side.)
Below, please find what I believe to be the most pleasing, balanced, and Mozartian combination of the ingredients.
THE AMADEUS AFFAIR
In a cocktail shaker, start with:
1-2 sprigs tarragon
3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
Muddle, then add:
1.5 oz gin
1 ⅓ oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur
⅔ oz fresh lemon juice (I use Meyer lemons)
2 drops absinthe
Add ice to the cocktail shaker, shake, and strain into a tall glass filled halfway with ice. Then add:
2 ounces soda water
Stir. Once complete, sit back and enjoy "The Amadeus Affair" with this sparkling track from our album An Amadeus Affair. :-)
