minor threat

1 oz Aperol
3/4 oz Hendrick's (or other cucumber-flavored) Gin
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Absinthe Verte (La Muse Verte)
1 Egg White
6 drop Rose Water

Shake once without ice and once with. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with 4 drops or one spray of absinthe (4 drops). Note: muddling cucumber in gin and fine straining is an option if cucumber-flavored gin is not available.

On Saturday night, I opened up my copy of Absinthe Cocktails and turned to the Minor Threat -- the drink that first caught my eye when I initially saw the book. While I love the old hardcore band Minor Threat, I still cannot see naming an alcoholic drink after a straight edge band. Ironic naming convention aside, this drink looked tasty and perhaps bartender Evan Zimmerman of Laurelhurst Market in Portland, Oregon, loved the band too back in his drier days. Evan's drink reminded me on paper of the Rogue Cocktail Book's 2 to 2 which also paired up absinthe with Aperol and lemon juice; however, the Minor Threat seemed more gentle with less absinthe and more smoothness from the addition of egg white.
The nose of the Minor Threat was absinthe from the garnish with an underlying sweet note. Flavorwise, a fruity Aperol and lemon sip was followed by absinthe on the swallow. The rose water turned out to be the key ingredient in the recipe; it first appeared on the swallow and later moved to the sip after a few tastes. Moreover, the rose brought the Hendrick's Gin and Aperol together as more unified flavor combination. When I made the comment that the Minor Threat was like a much more complex Pink Lady, Andrea countered that "It's a 'Pink Lady Reviver'!" for it seemed like the Pink Lady was meshed with the Corpse Reviver No. 2. Perhaps this could be a new morning-after tipple?