Corpse Reviver

Original oil on panel, 12" x 12".

Death, Gin and Lemon Juice, Part 2: we brought ourselves back to life with the Corpse Reviver. Actually the Corpse Reviver 2. The recipe tests always start with a recipe straight out of a book or the internet, then we tweak it to taste and I rewrite. The Corpse Reviver 2 recipe came from the Savoy Cocktail book, and for the first time ever, everyone agreed the drink could not be improved. It was perfect!

Given the zombie-ish name, I wanted a zombie-esque look for the painting. The startling green of the Absinthe made it pretty easy, along with the day-glo depression glass. A floating chunk of orange skin always looks sort of creepy too, although here it looks a bit like an egg. Which would also be creepy.

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French 75

Original oil on panel, 12" x 12".

"Death, Gin and Lemon Juice" was the theme for our last recipe test night. For the first half, we offed ourselves with the French 75, named for early French artillery. This is normally a champagne cocktail with a bit of gin. Ours ended up more of a gin cocktail with a bit of champagne. Is that bad?

I'll get to part two next week. In the meantime, I'm happy to announce that I have a venue for the Mixology Book Release Cocktail Party: it will be at Mizuna, a wonderful Spokane restaurant committed to delicious cocktails and an exceptional vegetarian/vegan menu (in addition to the regular menu, don't worry). It's happening the first week in November.

This is getting real!

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Vesper

Original oil on panel, 12" x 12".

Born in a 1953 Ian Fleming novel, Vesper is the "newest" drink featured in my book. I decided to include it because 1. it is a delicious drink and 2. it gave me an excuse to paint Paul's awesome mid-century-esque rocket shaker. 

Just like its namesake in Casino Royale, Vesper the painting proved a bit treacherous. The Lillet label was a beast, but since it looks like it hasn't changed in 100 years and I like that, I persisted. I even switched out one of the shot glasses in frustration halfway through. The new shot glass ended up looking much better in the end. I love how it reflects the lemon's cute little pointy butt.

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