Confession of a Mixologist: Super Flower Blood Moon
The Earth is never without its celestial offspring, the Moon, as it hurtles around the Sun tracing an ellipse through spacetime. At least that’s how it’s been since Earth bumped into an old friend at a wild cocktail party some years back. The resulting moon was unexpected, but the Earth and Moon settled into their roles as comfortable counterparts soon enough, each influencing the other. Earth’s constant companion has also been that for humanity from our very inception. The Moon’s mesmerizing, mercurial and mysterious nature has held humans in its sway from the very beginning. Romanticized, anthropomorphized, and even deified, the Moon has inspired every form of admiration. This mixologist must confess to believing the Moon worthy of every human tribute to its haunting beauty.
This is especially true when it does something unusual like this week’s Super Flower Blood Moon. If we break this poetic name down, we see that “Super” refers to the Moon at perigee or the point when it is closest to Earth. As a result, it appears larger than normal or “super-sized”. “Flower" is the traditional folk name for the May full moon. Every full moon has at least one such name that corresponds to natural happenings down here on terra firma. Lastly, a “Blood Moon” is the result of a total lunar eclipse that causes long light waves in the red spectrum to be refracted by Earth’s atmosphere and then reflected by the Moon’s surface to create a stunning red hue. Those who can view one are treated to an outsized orb of red incandescence and heavenly beauty.
So, how to create a cocktail worthy of the Moon in this most unusual state? Our mixologist’s mind first turned to the Blue Moon cocktail (blue moons are rare but not so rare as popular conception would have it) and the related Aviation. These classics turned out to be the perfect launching pad for our little project. We had lift off, and then it was ad astra (or in this case ad lunam). We fueled this rocket with a couple of ounces of floral Gin to ensure we reached escape velocity. We recommend modern Gins like Letherbee Vernal Gin Lavender & Almond Flavored Limited Release 2022, The Botanist, Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin or really lean into, not only floral aromas but the color we are after with Glendalough Rose Gin. Next came the booster rockets: Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur, Strawberry Liqueur and Crème de Violette to add fresh, fruity and floral notes and the requisite color. Add a little fresh lemon juice for balance, an edible flower garnish and the eagle has landed.
This is a beautifully balanced cocktail appropriate for anytime you make the Moon one of your drinking buddies, no need to wait for the next SFBM. In fact, drink this all through June, the month of the so-called Strawberry Moon or team it up with the Blue Moon cocktail if you are into gender reveal parties (at least you won’t have to blow anything up or burn the house down). In April it becomes the Pink Moon for that month’s full moon (aka the Nick Drake cocktail). Waxing, waning, new, quarter, gibbous or full; whenever the Moon is around this drink is appropriate to have in hand.
The SFBM cocktail is fresh and bright on its own, but you may want to team it up with something like a seasonal strawberry shortcake. If so, consider swapping the lemon juice and Strawberry Liqueur proportions for a perfect pairing.
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on. Don’t worry, the only hard part of this entire mission is coming back down to Earth. Splashdown can be a bit rough.
Cheers!
Super Flower Blood Moon
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 oz. “Floral” Gin
- ½ oz Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur
- ½ oz Strawberry Liqueur (Giffard Creme de Fraise des Bois or Tosolini Fragola)
- ¼ oz. Crème de Violette (Rothman & Winter)
- ¾ oz. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- Garnish: edible violet or nasturtium
SIMPLE STEPS:
- Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.
- Strain into a cocktail glass and float an edible flower for garnish.
