Pentecost Cocktail | A Holy Day Drink

Recipe (this one’s a doozy)
NOTE: This recipe is in PARTS, not ounces. Please be wise.

.75 gin
.5 vodka
.5 brandy
.5 light rum
.5 blended scotch
.5 irish whiskey
.5 tequila
.25 rye
.5 apricot liqueur
.25 raspberry liqueur
3 dashes cinnamon bitters (or 1 tsp Fireball — trust me on this)
.25 oz Absinthe and .125 oz Green Chartreuse for float
Lemon Peel, expressed and as garnish

Stir all ingredients (except the ingredients for the float) in a mixing glass until VERY chilled and diluted. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Express the lemon peel over the drink and garnish with the peel.

* * * *

Today is Pentecost, which is all about the Holy Spirit descending and indwelling Christians, creating unity out of a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual group of people. So, I wanted to create a cocktail that had as many “spirits” from as many regions as possible (get it?).

I ended up doing a riff on the strongest known cocktail in the world, the Aunt Roberta Cocktail (really neat history behind that drink, by the way). It has 12 ingredients (the symbolism gets a little nuts here), and what came out was an even stronger drink that is surprisingly balanced and soft for all that’s in it.

Seriously, give this a try. It will be worth your time and effort. It is one drink, with many parts. And it is beautiful.

Ingredient Notes

Okay, I’m going to be real here. After a certain number of different flavors in a food or drink, it maxes out your taste receptors and you can’t pick all the flavors out. That’s why this drink ends up being as smooth and balanced as it is–you can’t taste all the parts. Science!

That’s part of the reason why, honestly, the specific ingredients don’t really matter. Even if you’re missing a few of the liquors here, just be conscientious about it and go a little heavier on another spirit that might be a decent replacement. I also know that Green Chartreuse is very hard to find right now, so you can bypass that if you want.

The only things that I’d say you need to make sure you have are the liqueurs and things with very distinctive flavors. Those you will taste. Specifically, any two complementary fruit liqueurs, cinnamon flavor, and the absinthe float are important to have. Good luck, and if you come up with any variations, let me know!