drunken skull

3/4 oz El Dorado 12 Year Rum
3/4 oz Appleton V/X Rum
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Grenadine
2 dash Vieux Pontarlier Absinthe (1/8+ oz Butterfly)

Shake with ice and strain into a flute glass and top with Champagne (3 oz Gruet Blanc de Blancs).

Two Saturdays ago, I capped off my work night with a libation from the Death & Co. Cocktail Book called the Drunken Skull. Given the Tiki feel, it was not surprising that Brian Miller was the one who crafted this back in 2009. While there was no explanation provided, the recipe and name reminded me of the Shrunken Skull which was a mid-1950's Mai Kai creation as a two rum Jack Rose. The Shrunken Skull did need some gussying up, for I did skip over the recipe in Jeff Berry's Remixed until there was an Instagram challenge for bartenders to make the drink and photograph it that week. To dress up the classic recipe, I utilized a vintage Tiki mug and garnished with mint and nasturtium flowers in my Instagram photo. Here, Miller changed things around by adding a hint of absinthe complexity and turning it into an elegant sparkling cocktail.
The absinthe's anise provided much of the Drunken Skull's nose. The crisp and carbonated lime was balanced by the sweetened pomegranate and rums' caramel on the sip, and the swallow began with the rums and ended with the absinthe's herbal notes.