Too long have I kept silence. Once again, I confess that I have not ceased mixing; I’ve just stopped sharing the bounty of the vine and the still with you. Some drinks have been suggested or perfected by others; some are my own attempts at drink creation.
But the time has come to tell you all about the cocktail project which will keep me mixing busily for some years to come:
The Liturgical Calendar of Cocktails.
This is the brainchild of my friend Michelle, who enjoys celebrating high holy days in a particularly festive fashion. She and I are both members of what we call the Traveling Scriptorium, which is to say that we have a healthy affection for all illuminated writing. Between the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Orthodox calendars of saints, we reckon that every day is a red-letter day.
We’ve begun going through our lists of saints and drinks, attempting to pair them up as appropriate. Stephen gets the Old-Fashioned for being the first martyr; John the Evangelist, writer of the book of Revelation, the Last Word; St. Bernard of Clairveux, the “Mellifluous Doctor,” the Milk and Honey; St. Thomas the Apostle (and patron of India) the Bengali Gimlet; and so on.
As Traveling Scriptores, Michelle and I dream of crafting a hefty tome of vellum and ink, which will describe the saint’s life (and the rational for choosing each drink) on one side, with the drink recipe on the facing page. The pages below are our inspiration; some of them come from the Book of Hours, which (among other things) marks down those red-letter days, that one may prepare accordingly for them.
So look for such posts. They’ll be filed under “Liturgical Calendar of Cocktails,” and will note what feast day they’re meant for.
Cocktail Phalanx 