eva péron

This month's Mixology Monday theme, "Equal Parts" (MxMo LXV), was picked by me, and my challenge was to "Find or concoct a drink recipe that has an equal parts recipe -- those simple drinks where only one jigger is needed despite how many ingredients are added. These recipes have gained a lot of popularity as classics like the Negroni and Last Word have resurfaced, and variations of these equal part wonders have become abundant."

I was amused that I was a week out and still did not have a clue as to what I was going to make for my own theme. Most of the equal parts drinks I could think of off the top of my head I had already tried and written about before; therefore, I started looking. When local bartender Daren Swisher mentioned on Facebook that Imbibe Magazine had written about his Tom Terrific on their website, I checked out what other drinks were there. The one that caught my eye also appears in their The American Cocktail book that came out earlier this year called the Eva Péron by Darren Crawford of San Francisco's Bourbon & Branch.

Eva Péron served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952, and she was much loved such that the Argentinian Congress gave her the title of "Spiritual Leader of the Nation." Also much beloved in Argentina is Fernet Branca which has become their national drink. Most of the Fernet there is drank with Coca Cola or soda water. Here, in Crawford's tribute to the country, it is mixed with ginger beer. Since it appeared like a gussied up Fernet Buck, I was game to give this recipe a try.

Eva Péron
• 1 oz Fernet Branca
• 1 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
• 1 oz Ginger Liqueur (King's)
• 1 oz Lime Juice
Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glass filled with ice and 1 oz of ginger beer (AJ Stephans). Garnish with a lime wheel. I added a straw.

The lime wheel garnish added a brightness to the Fernet's menthol-herbal aroma in the drink. A sharp, carbonated lime sip led into a rather gingery swallow with a moderate Fernet menthol finish. Overall, it was sweeter and more complex than Deep Ellum's Fernet Buck but on a similar wavelength.
Normally, I thank this month's host and the person running Mixology Monday here. However, that is me on both accounts. So instead, I want to thank Paul Clarke for his inspiration in creating Mixology Monday as a way to bring together beverage bloggers from around the globe to unite; honestly, it has been the best way for me to bolster my RSS reader with great blogs, and I use this event to seek out kindred spirits. And I would also like to thank Paul for his efforts to carry Mixology Monday through 64 events! I have been with MxMo since event XXX, and it is truly an honor for Paul to entrust his brainchild with me. So cheers to Paul as well as to everyone else who participates each month to help make Mixology Monday one of the best blogger events on the web!