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Thursday, 01 March 2012 - 07:41:12 AM
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Monday, 27 February 2012
The Grand Prix / Alien Brain Haemorrhage
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10:15 AM
The Alien Brain Haemorrhage.
By François Monti
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10:10 AM
it looks more like a storm (over the highlands) in a shot glass
For a bartender, a pousse-café has to be the strangest of drinks. It’s not about shaking a drink until every ingredient is ice-cold; it’s not about stirring it until every liquor is well mixed and become a greater thing than the sum of its parts. It’s about keeping the stuff separated in nice, tidy layers. Obviously, these after-dinner drinks have been around for quite a while and they require a lot of skills and practice. The name gives it away: pousse-café’s are a French invention. It is said that it made its way from France to New Orleans in the 1840’s. In his book Famous New Orleans Drinks, Stanley Clisby Arthur tells us that in his era, one of the most popular drinks was the Santini’s Old New Orleans Pousse Café: layers of Cognac, Maraschino syrup, Curacao and good Cuban rum. And while Santini was offering his clients drinks with four layers, one Nick Castrogiovanni was said to prepare his with no less than thirty-four…!
Fast-forward almost two centuries. Word got to us that somewhere in Scotland, some people are having fun with good old pousse-café. No doubt the product of a failed attempt at layering liquors, their mad scientist experiment spawned what they claim looks like an Alien Brain Haemorrhage… whatever that means. To us, it looks more like a storm (over the highlands) in a shot glass. Now, if only there was a bit of smoke on top of it, we’d think we were standing before Ben Nevis on a foggy day.
We didn’t try the drink ourselves, and, given the ingredients, we’re quite sure it has a foul taste. However, we won’t stop you having a go at it if you feel like creating your very own Haemorrhage (sounds fun, right?). Fill the glass halfway with peach schnapps; carefully pour Bailey’s on top. Once the shot glass is almost full, add slowly a bit of blue curacao and let it settle. Then, add a splash of grenadine. Enjoy the show. It will obviously catch the attention of quite a few patrons, and we have to admit it’s a funny-looking drink. But we pretty sure the cantineros would claim mixing a la cubana is no less spectacular, far more elegant and produces a better drink. We know how to make them right.
Fast-forward almost two centuries. Word got to us that somewhere in Scotland, some people are having fun with good old pousse-café. No doubt the product of a failed attempt at layering liquors, their mad scientist experiment spawned what they claim looks like an Alien Brain Haemorrhage… whatever that means. To us, it looks more like a storm (over the highlands) in a shot glass. Now, if only there was a bit of smoke on top of it, we’d think we were standing before Ben Nevis on a foggy day.
We didn’t try the drink ourselves, and, given the ingredients, we’re quite sure it has a foul taste. However, we won’t stop you having a go at it if you feel like creating your very own Haemorrhage (sounds fun, right?). Fill the glass halfway with peach schnapps; carefully pour Bailey’s on top. Once the shot glass is almost full, add slowly a bit of blue curacao and let it settle. Then, add a splash of grenadine. Enjoy the show. It will obviously catch the attention of quite a few patrons, and we have to admit it’s a funny-looking drink. But we pretty sure the cantineros would claim mixing a la cubana is no less spectacular, far more elegant and produces a better drink. We know how to make them right.
By François Monti
+ add a comment
Submit
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