What cocktails are named, created, or in some other sense may be used by Catholics to celebrate their liturgical year?
And now for some innovations in the world of liturgical mixology. We created the Great Basil in honor of St. Basil the Great, a fourth-century Greek Father and Doctor of the Church. Ingredients for this crisp summer drink include muddled basil and white Lillet wine, both in honor of the herbs and “vapid wine” that were a part of the abstemious saint’s daily diet.
1 lime wedge
1 tsp. simple syrup
3-6 fresh basil leaves
2 oz. Lillet Blanc
1 oz. gin basil sprig (for garnishing)
Squeeze lime into shaker. Add basil leaves and simple syrup, and muddle gently. Add ice, Lillet, and gin and shake vigorously at least forty times. Pour into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice. Garnish with a sprig of basil.
- The Consecrated Life (February 2 [Feast of the Purification])
St. Bruno and St. Benedict are among those saints who took the spiritual life very serious and wrote the rules that still exist for their respective Religious Orders (Carthusians and Benedictines). This fine nuanced drink is very suitable for a selected few occasions such as an ordination (priest or permanent deacon) and on the anniversary of one’s ordination. It is also an open idea to help celebrate the Feast of the Purification which is the liturgical end day of the holy season of Christmas and the World Day of Consecrated Life (February 2) as was promulgated by Pope St. John Paul II on January 1, 1997. The Consecrated Life consists 1 oz Bénédictine; 1 oz Yellow Chartreuse and 4 oz Ginger Ale. Serve Cold.
The Savoy Cocktail Book touts the Leap Year Cocktail for having “been responsible for more proposals than any other cocktail that has ever been mixed.” Invented by the books author, Harry Craddock, for the Leap Year celebrations at the Savoy Hotel, London, on February 29th, 1928, the cocktail is certainly substantial enough for any celebration. Substantial enough for any celebration.
Ingredients:
2 oz Hendrick’s Gin
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1/8 oz lemon juice
Shake with ice. Strain into a cocktail coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.
St. Tropez is a posh town on the French Riviera named after its most famous deceased inhabitant, St .Tropez of Pisa (d. 65), an attendant of the Emperor Nero who was converted by St. Paul and subsequently decapitated. According to legend, his headless body was placed in a boat which drifted to the current location of the town.
There are a couple of different cocktails named after his final resting place; the one we include here uses red Dubonnet, a wine made especially for mixed drinks.
2 oz. Dubonnet
2 oz. orange or cranberry juice
Build in an old fashioned glass filled with crushed ice and stir until cold.
St. Damien de Veuster, SS.CC., better known as Damien of Molokai, was a heroic priest who served the leper colony on the Hawaiian island of Molokai until he himself succumbed to the disease. Our St. Damien cocktail is a sweet and tangy tropical drink that includes pineapple juice for the saint’s adopted home, lemon juice for the bitterness of leprosy, and grenadine made from pomegranate, a symbol of self-giving. He died April 15th, 1889.
1 oz. gin
¾ oz. pineapple juice
¼ oz. grenadine
¼ oz. lemon juice
1 splash soda water (optional)
Pour all ingredients except soda water into a shake with ice and shake forty times. Strain into a cocktail glass and top with a splash of soda water.
This brilliant saint (along with his iconic mom, St. Monica) was born in what is modern-day Algeria. Famously known for being a party boy — “Lord make me chaste, but not yet!” — he eventually changed his ways and became one of the most well-known Christian philosophers and theologians in history.
This cocktail is loosely based off of Mazagran, a drink that became a staple in Algeria many centuries after St. Augustine walked around as the bishop of Hippo, but we think that the patron saint of brewers would probably enjoy it, regardless.
1 oz of simple syrup
2 oz of cold brew coffee
2 oz of stout beer
2 oz of rum
1/2 oz of heavy cream (or half and half)
Mix together the coffee, beer, rum, and simple syrup. Add ice, and pour the heavy cream (or half and half) on top.
- St. Mother Teresa (September 4)
St. Mother Teresa inspired millions — from presidents and royalty to the poorest of the poor. She was a bold, small woman who wasn’t known to mince words. Inspired by her simplicity, as well as her roots in both Albania and India, we’ve developed an apt cocktail to honor this formidable, simple woman:
2 oz of simple syrup
2 oz of freshly-squeezed lemon juice (keep a slice of the lemon for garnish)
1 oz Raki (an Albanian spirit — but you can use brandy if you can’t find it)
1 oz of sparkling water
1 tbsp of mint
Mix all together, muddle the mint, and add ice!
According to an Irish legend, blackberries are bitter after Michaelmas (September 29) because it was on that day that Michael cast Lucifer out of Heaven, and that when he did, the Devil landed on a blackberry bush, spitting on it and cursing it. The St. Michael’s Sword is made from blackberry brandy and Jim Beam Devil’s Cut Bourbon. The “Angels’ share” is the portion of the whiskey that escapes into the air during distillation, but the “Devil’s cut” is the portion that seeps into the wood of the barrels. Jim Beam claims to have stolen this cut back from the Devil, and so we gratefully offer this portion to St. Michael for a job well done.
1½ oz. Jim Beam Devil’s Cut bourbon
¾ oz. blackberry brandy
2 dashes orange bitters
1 cherry for garnish
Pour all ingredients except cherry in a shaker with ice and shake forty times. Strain into a cocktail glass. Use a cocktail spear (St. Michael’s sword) to transfix the cherry (the Devil, red with shame and rage).
Known for his simple ways and his brilliance (the man spoke at least six languages fluently — and many more not-quite-fluently) St. Pope John Paul II wasn’t just a genius but an inspiring leader whose words about living a life boldly without fear still propel both young and old into action today. “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth,” he wrote, “and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth — in a word, to know Himself.”
As the first Polish Pope — and the first non-Italian pope in 400 years — we think a simple drink tasting like a homey apple pie is something this warm, Polish playwright would enjoy:
1.5 oz of Polish chamomile-infused vodka, like Zubrowka Apple cider
Mix — and you’re done. Add ice if you’re feeling a bit fancy; heat up if you’re feeling cold.
- The Beast of Revelation (Halloween, October 31 or All Soul's Day November 2)
This is my own creation for setting an allhallowtide atmosphere.
The book of Revelation tells of a star named Wormwood that plummets to Earth and carries with it bitterness that poisons a third of all of the earth's waters on The Day of the Lord.
This cocktail is a different way to celebrate All Soul’s Day, saints associated with exorcisms and shall we say Halloween. The black Absinthe Gothica has a starring role in this drink as it also recalls the demon Wormwood in The Screwtape Letters of C. S. Lewis. Blackberry wine reminds us of the blackberry legend with St. Michael and the Devil. The Beast of Revelation is made as follows: 1 oz Absinthe Gothica (any other absinthe will do); 4 oz of blackberry wine; and 1oz rye, whiskey or vodka (optional). Be aware that Absinthe Gothica is “Strong as hell, this stuff is evil!"
A here is a drink to honour the memory of Blessed Miguel Pro, Mexican Jesuit and martyr who died on November 23, 1927. Before the firing squad was ordered to shoot, Fr. Pro raised his arms in imitation of Christ and shouted the defiant cry of the Cristeros, "Viva Cristo Rey!" – "Long live Christ the King!” When the initial shots of the firing squad failed to kill him, a soldier shot him at point-blank range. He is also the first martyr to be photographed at the moment of being killed.
3 measures of Tequila (blue agave)
1 of Mezcal
½ meas. of St. Germain (elderflower liquor)
½ of lime juice
Splash of Pierre Ferrand Dry Orange Cointreau
Dash orange bitter
- St. Francis Xavier (December 3)
St. Francis Xavier was a prolific missionary from Spain covered a lot of territory and converted a lot of souls in his mere 46 years, especially when the only mode of transportation to cross oceans was a wooden ship. Known as the “Apostle of the Indies” and the “Apostle of Japan,” he went to India, Southeast Asia, Japan, and China. We think he inspires a pretty global drink, so we suggest marrying sangria with sake. We hope this converts you and all your friends:
8 oz of sake
1 bottle of merlot
6 oz of orange juice
2 oz of lime juice
2 oz of lemon juice
4 oz of cherry (or pomegranate) juice
1 cup of sparkling water
Orange, lemon, or lime (or all) slices
Combine everything together and serve immediately!
A Tom and Jerry is a traditional Christmastime cocktail in the United States, devised by British journalist Pierce Egan in the 1820s. It is a variant of eggnog with brandy and rum added and served hot, usually in a mug or a bowl.
The drink's name is a reference to Egan's book, Life in London, or The Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn Esq. and his Elegant Friend Corinthian Tom (1821), and the subsequent stage play Tom and Jerry, or Life in London (also 1821). To publicize the book and the play, Egan introduced a variation of eggnog by adding 1⁄2 US fluid ounce (15 ml) of brandy, calling it a "Tom and Jerry". The additional fortification helped popularize the drink. - Tom and Jerry (drink)
The Holy Water Cocktail is a cocktail in the making for visitors to the home when no one saint’s day or feast comes to mind at the moment. It is one’s ferial cocktail, for those stand by moments to express our faith. It also fine to serve on days when water comes to mind within the liturgy such as the Baptism of the Lord. The Holy Water cocktail is one of the most beautiful blue cocktails out there. This stunning, fruity mixed drink combines vodka, rum, blue curacao, Peach Schnapps, lemonade, and a splash of pineapple juice, and it’s guaranteed to blow people’s minds especially if you serve it in a big goblet filled with cruched ice. The Holy water cocktail consists of 1 oz. (30ml) Vodka; 1 oz. (30ml) Rum; 1/2 oz. (15ml) Blue curaçao; 1/2 oz. (15ml) Peach Schnapps; 4 oz. (120ml) Lemonade; Splash Pineapple Juice. Fill the glass with sprite (or 7 Up).
Remember that drinking is always to be done responsibly.
