Saturday, September 12, 2026

bask intentions

1 1/2 oz Blanco Tequila (Fosforo)
3/4 oz Marie Brizard Apry (Rothman & Winter Apricot)
1/2 oz Jeppson's Malört
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/4 oz Honey Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a blackberry and a raspberry (cherry) on a pick.
Two Saturdays ago, I looked to the online recipe flashcards for The Violet Hour in Chicago and landed upon the Bask Intentions from their Spring 2022 menu. The name makes reference to "Bäsk is a Swedish-style liquor flavored with wormwood ('malört' in Swedish)" according to Wikipedia, although it is sometimes questionable if anyone handing you Malört is doing so with the best intentions. Malört has been paired with apricot liqueur in Whistler's Lightning Swords of Death and in my Cutman, and paired with tequila in The Violet Hour's Honey I'm Home, so it felt like a good use of the last of my grapefruit juice garnered from my spent garnish fruit. In the glass, the Bask Intentions launched off with apricot and cherry aromas. Next, lemon, grapefruit, orchard fruit, and hint of honey on the sip progressed into tequila, apricot, and bitter grapefruit flavors on the swallow.

2 comments:

djones206 said...

This reminded me of a Margarita style cocktail as I continued to sip on it. It's not too bitter or too dry, yet not too sweet. It reached the perfect balance in flavor for me as the drink looses some of it's chill. Although it's not a Malort heavy cocktail in the amount of Malort that's used, the overall flavor does represent what an enjoyable Malort Margarita would taste like to me.

frederic said...

Malört's bitterness dissipates when sugar is added. The liqueur as a shot is intense because the sugar content is low (although higher than when it was being made in Florida at or before 2018). Apricot seems to also complement the flavors given the two other drinks using it.