ada lovecraft

1 1/2 oz Malört (Jeppson's)
1 1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
2 dash Fernet Branca (1/8 oz)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.

After making the Hocus Pocus that was a riff on the Hanky Panky, I began to contemplate other things that began with H & P. My mind soon drifted to the initials of the New England cosmic horror author H.P. Lovecraft, and that led me to Malört as the base spirit to represent the supernatural horror aspect. I dubbed this one the Ada Lovecraft as a nod to Ada Coleman who created the Hanky Panky at the Savoy Hotel bar.The Ada Lovecraft bubbled out of the glass with an orange, grape, and herbal aroma. Next, grape and orange notes lurched from the sip, and the swallow exalted the senses with bitter herbal grape flavors akin to Cardamaro with a grapefruit and menthol finish. The sugar in the sweet vermouth did a lot to mollify the rougher edges of Jeppson's Malört, so this was rather enjoyable to drink. "Pleasure to me is wonder – the unexplored, the unexpected, the thing that is hidden and the changeless thing that lurks behind superficial mutability." – H.P. Lovecraft.