la fiscus verte

3 Mission Figs, halved (2 Figs)
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1 dash Tahitian Vanilla Bean Syrup (1 tsp Trader Tiki)
1 slice Valencia Orange
3 oz Cachaça (2 oz Cuca Fresca)
1 splash Absinthe Verte (1/8 oz La Muse Verte)

Muddle figs, lemon juice, vanilla syrup, and orange slice. Add rest of ingredients and ice, shake, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with 3 dashes of bitters (20 drops Angostura Bitters) and an orange slice (orange twist). The photo in the book showed a lot of seeds so I did not fine strain but used a Julep strainer as my secondary one to catch any larger bits that passed through the Hawthorn strainer; I also scaled down the drink slightly.

One of the recipes I spotted in A Taste for Absinthe caught my eye for it used muddled figs. La Fiscus Verte, named after the Greek word for figs combined with an absinthe/green fairy reference, was a bit different for me as it was more of a culinary cocktail and less of a classic style. Indeed, the creator, Paul Scandura of the Martini House in Napa Valley, got his formal education at the Culinary Institute of America, so the style falls into place. My love of figs allowed me to overcome this hurdle, and the cachaça helped to erase any residual pangs of guilt later. Well, I guess I also succumb to this style when it involves cucumber, such as in the Fin du Saison and the Elisabeth Aplegate, but this was my first figgy cocktail.
La Fiscus Verte started with an orange oil aroma coupled with Angostura Bitters notes. The cachaça's grassiness came across on the sip along with the orange juice. Meanwhile, the cachaça's funkiness appeared on the swallow which blended well with the absinthe and hints of vanilla. Strangely, the fig appeared on the sip less as a flavor but more as an intriguing full mouthfeel sensation.