bunch of violets

1 Egg
1 spoonful Sugar (1 barspoon, 1/8 oz)
1/6 Benedictine (1/2 oz)
1/6 Maraschino (1/2 oz Luxardo)
1/6 Anisette (1/2 oz Arak Razzouk)
1/6 Vino Vermouth (1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth)
1/6 Crème de Vanille (1/2 oz Navan)
1/6 Chartreuse (1/2 oz Green)
2 pony Cream (2 oz Half & Half)

Fill your glass with ice, freeze into a jelly, strain into long glasses, and serve. Makes 2 servings. See text.

The other drink we had last Wednesday was the Bunch of Violets from William Schmidt's The Flowing Bowl. Surprisingly, this drink lacks crème de violette or William's favorite liqueur, crème de rose; in fact, none of the ingredients are exceptional floral. I was a bit flummoxed by the recipe's instructions but I decided to see how much of a jelly this mixture would make if chilled; therefore, I dry-shook it in a cobbler and stuck it in the freezer for an hour. After observing very little change in viscosity, I added ice, shook like I was making a Flip, and strained into a rocks glass. Perhaps if the fractional volume was much smaller so the mix was more egg and cream than alcohol, it might have solidified into a gel. However, the call for tall glasses suggests that the drink should be on the larger side.

The Bunch of Violets began with the fresh aroma of the cream and egg. The vanilla notes seemed the strongest of the sip, and the anise, Chartreuse, and Maraschino filled the swallow. As the drink warmed up, a slight chocolate note surfaced that I presumed was from the Benedictine. Overall, the mixture was flavorful but individual ingredients were not easily identifiable. While the drink was not all that suggestive of flowers, it was definitely (in Andrea's words) "a damn tasty Nog variation."