Red wine on Valentine’s Day (Etrigan)

Red wine. I love it. Actually… I’ve never encountered a bottle of red wine I couldn’t empty fluently (but I rarely ask for another glass of white wine). I guess folks are buying red for the upcoming Valentine’s … so cocktail using Red Nectar of Gods?

If you check out cocktails using red, it seems that the wine is often heated up: some nice hot cup for those cold and dark winter evenings… that’s okay, but I’d want to try something cool, or at least room temperature.

Sure, you can do Sangria… but I consider it watering down good wine. Go ahead, hate me, but I resent Sangria.

My approach to red wine cocktail… “keep it room temperature, spice it up with something else than plain sweet (tired of those red wine-chocolate-lots of sugar-combos)… utilize that ruby red colour… well, it basically looks like blood… Blood? Jason Blood?”

I guess very few people name Jason Blood/Etrigan their favourite superhero but I like him/them, well worth a cocktail.

ETRIGAN (Rhyming Demon)

“Gone! Gone! O’ form of man
And rise the Demon Etrigan!!”

Rim margarita glass with red wine and powdered sugar. Set the glass aside, sugar will harden while you prepare the rest of the drink.

(measurements consider margarita glass of approx. 3 dl (10 oz), adjust accordingly)

-4 cl (1 1/2 oz) Campari

-2 cl (3/4 oz) simple syrup

-1 to 2 cl (1/3 to 3/4 oz) Crème de Cassis

(-2 cl gin)

Shake/stir ingredients together (no ice necessary), pour into margarita glass. Fill it up with red wine, stir gently.

“Why margarita glass? There’s no tequila in the drink?” Well, margarita glass has larger rim… meaning more sugar-wine-mixture which might be necessary, especially if you use gin… and it simply looks better!

The original version was more simple, but My Test Subjects (aka. friends) told me that the drink needs “something more”… they approved the version above, but personally I still prefer original.  I renamed it… not supervillain, although some sort of villain, I guess.

CALIGULA

Exactly as Rhyming Demon, but use only Campari, simple syrup and red wine. Decorate with laurel leaf.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! We’ll meet again in a week or so.