Art is a necessity. It never ceases to surprise me during long stents without releasing creative energy how weary my soul has become since my last project. The sensation is like a smell that you’ve grown accustomed to after spending hours with it, but then you leave and upon returning discover the smell anew. The last two years have been packed with so many trials and tribulations for Angela and me that we never realized how hard it was to breathe until we shared the thought, let’s get back to our cocktail project.
Before I dive into our latest venture, it would probably be a sin not to briefly recap where we’ve been and what we’ve been doing. So much has changed that I feel like a stranger to who I was just the last time we posted, let alone the first time.
The pandemic overtook our daily lives, removed me from music and performance, from the service industry, from traveling, and sapped the small things that made me whole. In this dark time, my gaze turned to fulfilling our needs. We had a beautiful baby boy and we moved to an apartment near Des Moines. We left the life we knew and the places we wandered to give something more to our little one. Parenting was especially hard on some of those long nights. Each day became a new challenge to do better at work, give more to our child, and enhance our new home. I remember this pounding drum at the back of my mind as a void grew deeper and stronger. It screamed for more, and better, and more again. It didn’t help that I was working a sales job which by definition put me in a cycle of self-criticism and personal pep-talks as if every aspect of anything that ever existed should be improved from one day to the next; and the absence of improvement was failure.
It wasn’t all bad though. The little creature brought into our world grew so quickly, feeding off of the motivation, energy, life, and love we carry home to him each day. He would say our names, demand hugs and kisses, and give off this lively aura that could heal a broken heart. We bought an espresso machine so I could continue to develop my barista skills despite leaving the service industry. I had more room for ice carving and creative cocktails on the weekends.
Still driven by this day-to-day improvement lifestyle, we bought a car in 2020, then bought a house in 2021. The first week we moved into the house, we also adopted a beautiful schnauzer-lab mix; her name is Willow. Angie had been wanting a puppy but I kept convincing her we should wait until we had a house and a yard of our own. She waited–but not a second longer than she had to. I’m not exaggerating when I say we moved into our house on Wednesday and adopted a dog on Friday. I’m still stressed just thinking about it.
Angie and I have truly realized that even after all of our hard work and accomplishments these past two years, there has been something missing. It’s not a nicer car, a bigger tv, or a better computer. We need art to function. This is the longest I’ve gone without performing or creating something for the sake of my soul.
And so, we got our big, beautiful book with The Champs playing on the speakers. Without further ado–Tequila.
I must admit, this is not a complicated cocktail to make, which helped us comfortably return to the art. We started by making the syrups and solutions; honey diluted in water… ginger peeled, juiced, starch removed, and blended with sugar… Hawaiian black salt blended with hot water and strained for a supple, salty solution… Lapsang souchong steeped in Everclear using a sous vide. By the time we were finished with these, I kept re-reading the book feeling like I missed something. It was strange to be finished so quickly that I was sure we had missed a step. Our real apprehension came from the next step, the horseradish tincture.
Horseradish is an intense ingredient and we had read about the challenges Allen himself, among others we’ve had spoken with, had faced when juicing this piquant monster. What particularly stuck with us was the comment of “like being maced.” We accepted all their wisdom and juiced it outdoors on our back patio, and added our own precautions of wearing swimming goggles and gloves. To my surprise, it wasn’t nearly as potent as expected, but definitely would have been if we did the job inside. In fact, once all the ingredients were assembled, I was baffled to find that the spiciest, most potent ingredient that we crafted was actually the ginger syrup. Don’t get me wrong, the horseradish was strong, but the intensity of the juiced ginger was something else, and I’ve made several batches of ginger syrup before without such extreme flavor.
Crafting the beverage lacked major finesse or complication. Just combine all ingredients with some grapefruit, lime juice, and Tequila Fortaleza Blanco. Shake vigorously, then garnish with the lapsang souchong tincture and… Tequila! The result was incredible. Tequila is a rich beverage with layers of flavor. First, the smokey aroma of the tincture greets your senses and imposes the threat of a good time. Next, the juicy acidity endows your lips with a tangy undertone mixed with the soft, vegetal agave of the liquor. Then your mind is flooded with the spice of ginger and horseradish like they’re locked in a tango as the vapors fill your mouth. Finally, the sweet honey and savory salt gently tug all of the ingredients back together in a uniform richness. I spent the rest of the next week making this drink from leftovers in the fridge for every friend I could invite over.
And just for fun, we made a TikTok about it too.
Bonus note: Angie and I are thrilled to at last be able to officially go to none other than The Office within The Aviary at the end of the month. We’re excited to experience the delectation of these drinks from their original home, and meet some of the incredible people behind our favorite beverage book.
