Beetroot juice?!? (Mystique, Nightcrawler)

Today’s theme… beetroot juice?!? 

Long time ago Test Subject L. challenged me: “Try making something palatable out of beetroot juice. The aroma is so “suffocating”, it just drowns everything else.” Well, challenge accepted.

On the other hand… Test Subject K. has been asking for a Nightcrawler recipe for a long time… “It doesn’t have to be blue, the taste is the most important thing… somehow mystical and out-of-this-world, and let’s not forget that Kurt Wagner is a jester.”

Okay, L. and K., here’s my answer to you…

 

NIGHTCRAWLER

4 parts sweet red vermouth

4 parts beetroot juice

1 part Parfait Amour or Galliano (see below)

Shake with ice and strain into old fashioned glass with some ice in it (not too much).

This drink sure has a menacing look, but the taste doesn’t follow the same suit (as with Kurt: looks something out of hell, but he really is a warm human being… erm, mutant being.)

So, where’s “jester”? My idea of “jesting” is the hint of vanilla, crashing with opposite taste of beetroot… If you prefer more vanilla, please feel free to add vanilla extract as much as you like.

I think Parfait Amour is better choice than Galliano… just before serving the drink you could spray some P-Amour right onto the drink (even if you’re using Galliano in drink): it gives beautiful scent…and then comes the beetroot punch! Now there’s a jest for you! 😀

 

MYSTIQUE

Mystique is Nighcrawler’s mother, so I think it’s logical to use beetroot in her cocktail also.

2 parts extra dry vermouth

1 part gin

1 part Midori OR Heering (see below)

3 parts raspberry juice

2 parts beetroot juice

Shake with ice and strain into highball glass with some ice in it (again, not too much). Garnish with something beautiful but menacing and “dark”.

As always… for raspberry juice, please use high quality concentrate diluted with water 1:1 ratio instead of recommended 1:3 or 1:4.

Midori gives certain “sting”, using Heering produces somehow “heavy” result… changing this liqueur is my representation of Mystique’s chameleon abilities. There are differences, but in the end it’s always the same Mystique.

Please feel free to substitute Midori/Heering with other liqueurs, but be warned: beetroot really drowns other aromas, liqueurs are likely end up “lost” somewhere in there.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, beetroot juice has one inherent problem… it seems that there are no significant differences between the brands, they’re all the same organic healthstuff (so these cocktails are good for your health ;P)… anyway, I noticed that if you store opened bottle overnight, even if it’s in the fridge, next day “Mystique” made out of that juice will taste pretty much the same as “Nightcrawler”.

This is disappointing. When using freshly opened bottle, two cocktails are different… but that’s the way it is. As a solution I give you another version of Mystique…

MYSTIQUE (RAVEN DARKHÖLME)

3 to 4 parts extra dry vermouth

2 parts beetroot juice

Shake with ice and strain into highball glass. Add ice and garnish as above.

This version has very little common with original Mystique cocktail and it’s not that good, but at least it’s completely different from Nightcrawler.

 

I will continue my experiments with beetroot juice, next time I’ll introduce one more recipe using that same ingredient… but please relax, there will be a cocktail with much more “easy” taste… and more mocktails!