Serpent Society, part 2/3 (Anaconda, Princess Python)

Second post in our Serpent Society Female Character Series. Last time we discovered two venomous snakes, Asp and Black Mamba, now it’s time to check out constrictors.

 

ANACONDA

Mixing mint and chocolate is old news, as is chocolate combined with port wine… how about mixing them all? My philosophy while designing this drink was to express the suffocating and overwhelming sensation of being “embraced” by poweful Anaconda: this drink, suitable for dessert, is SO intense and sweet that people, even if they love it while tasting it the first time, rarely ask for a second.

4cl (1 1/2 oz) hot chocolate (see below)

4cl Creme de Menthe

2cl (3/4 oz) port wine

(simple syrup, depending on the chocolate you’re using, see below)

1 egg white (see below)

Shake with ice and strain into small cocktail glass. Sprinkle chocolate shavings on top.

About hot chocolate… I advise against basic cocoa powder while preparing Anaconda. Crush chocolate of your choice into mixing jar, add little hot water, mash and muddle… and repeat: impregnate the water with as much chocolate as you can, it should be thick goo.

I think dark chocolate with little chili works fine in this one, faint chili aftertaste is satisfying… but it’s up to you to use whatever chocolate you fancy.

If you’re using dark chocolate with very little sugar, you might have to add some simple syrup. Sweeter, lighter-coloured chocolates don’t necessarily require any added sugar (since Creme de Menthe and port wine are so sweet).

Egg white… unfortunately most people recoil when they hear there’s an egg white in their cocktail. You can prepare Anaconda without one, but there will be “something missing”… egg white adds more thickness, blends the aromas together… you should overcome your gratuitous fear for egg whites while preparing Anaconda, it’s worth it.

 

PRINCESS PYTHON

(yes, I know… it’s boa, not python, in the picture…)

In Black Mamba I used coffee to give “The Jolt” for the drink. I’m using coffee in Princess Python also, but for a different reason: to add a hint of cold coffee’s acrid taste, to represent the threat of lurking giant snake. Mixing it with other suitable elements results in “menacing” cocktail.

2 parts coffee (let it cool down before preparing the cocktail)

3 parts sloe gin

2 parts reposado tequila

1 part Rose’s Lime Cordial

Stir with ice and strain into cocktail glass. You can also shake, but it results in a bit “muddy-looking” drink (like in the picture above, I chose that photo because some of my Test Subjects thought the cocktail looks better shaken).

About the coffee… Same thing as with Black Mamba, espresso has too intense flavour for this purpose, please use milder brews. And Finnish readers know what I mean with “coffee”: your basic Juhla Mokka, Presidentti etc. that you drink daily. Paulig’s new Café New York Medium Dark Roast is worth checking out.

 

Asp, Black Mamba, Anaconda, Princess Python… Diamondback is missing, and we’ll check out her cocktail in the next post… and I’ll start a new series. See ya 😀