Ballot Box Nightmare (Captain America and Lex Luthor, revisited)

Halloween is closing in. Instead of grim killers or supernaturals, this year I’m gonna speculate with realistic threats, true horror scenarios… what happens if a madman manages to “wheel and deal” him/herself to an Oval Office?

For example: Lex Luthor did it twice (thrice, if you count an animated series)… In “Red Son” and “No Man’s Land” storylines. Both times ended bad for the American people (and humanity in general).

He claimed to be “listening to the Common Man”; I used this as an inspiration for my earlier Lex Luthor drink. Lex doesn’t give a fudge about a common man, or everyone else but himself for that matter – I’ll keep that in mind while introducing his drink today.

So, there is a real threat that Lex is going to make it to the office; who’s gonna save America? I guess no one else but our beloved Captain America; yup, he’s a character from different publisher, but in the darkest hour we don’t care about such minor details.

I published my first version of Cap almost three years back, it’s about time to honour him with another cocktail recipe… even more than one.

Shopping list for this alternative Halloween Horror party cocktail list: Russian vodka, Passõa, bourbon (Jim Beam recommended), Campari, Blue Curacao, sour apple liqueur (I prefer De Kyuper Sour Apple, but Sourz Apple is ok also), Bols Natural Yoghurt liqueur, gin, champagne, Fernet Branca/Jägermeister/Gammel Dansk, simple syrup, lemon juice, apple juice

CAPTAIN AMERICA (RISE AND FALL OF THE MADMAN)

Top layer, white (well, transparent):

Russian vodka

Upper middle layer, red:

2 parts Passõa

1 part bourbon

2 parts apple juice

(some red grenadine, should you want to adjust the colour)

Lower middle layer, red:

As upper middle layer, but add up to 1 part Campari (try it with few dashes first)

Bottom layer, blue:

Sour Apple liqueur

Blue Curacao, for adjusting colour (you won’t need much)

Shake layers separately with ice and layer into a highball glass with some ice in it. It might take couple of trial-and-errors to get the top layer right: just the right ice-vodka ratio to create illusion of white stripe, and to make sure the amount of ice is correct – meaning that there’s barely nothing of them left when you finish the blue layer (just the right the amount of “cooling power” without watering down).

So what’s the story of this drink?

Let’s say Lex made it for president 2016, and now he’s running for the second term. White layer represents the shock in 2016: “whatta hell happened? Somehow that maniac is now in Oval Office?” I think Russian vodka is great for representing that kick to the groin.

Red layer: After the initial shock the people calm down a little, “okay, it’s only four years”… life goes on, with basic American household items: bourbon, and apple juice (since that famous “American as an Apple Pie” is not a liquid). Passõa worked nice in my first Captain America cocktail, I’ll use it here too: it’s here just for the taste, no particular thematic reason. Well, colour fits nice.

(If you’re a fan of bourbon-rhubarb-combo, try substituting Passõa with De Kyuper Sour Rhubarb. You’ll probably need some red grenadine too, I think the colour is a bit too brownish in this option.)

Then the reality kicks is… Lower middle layer represents life in USA when people realize they’re living in a nightmare: it’s still Land of The Free and Home of The Brave, but the bitterness of Campari turns it into a nation on its way to a dictatorship.

And then… Blue layer represents the relief when Lex doesn’t make it in 2020. That famous American Apple Pie is depicted with Sour Apple: tastewise it’s really nice relief after the bitterness of Campari.

Yes, it’s very laborious drink to make, but it sure tells a story: initial shock, people coping with it, harsh reality kicking in, and a relief when The Madman is thrown from the throne.

We’ll stick with the layering in the next one, too…

CAPTAIN AMERICA (LAND OF THE FREE)

Top layer, red:

2 parts Passõa

1 part bourbon

2 parts apple juice

Middle layer, white:

Bols Natural Yoghurt

Bottom Layer, blue:

Sour apple liqueur

Blue Curacao, for adjusting colour (you won’t need much)

Shake layers separately and layer into a cocktail glass with one or two small ice cubes in it.

This is the drink people enjoy when their work in the ballot boxes pays off, when Lex Luthor is denied his second term. You’ll notice that red and blue layers are exactly the same as in “Rise and Fall of The Madman” above: Bols Natural Yoghurt creates nice “breezy” moment somewhere there, between the different depictions of American Apple Pie.

If you’re into serious celebration, you can serve this drink as a shot…

It might seem that all that layering labour is for nothing (except for visual value) when you’re going to down it with one shot, but it’s surprisingly nice: the rush of aromas is pretty enjoyable.

CAPTAIN AMERICA (…AND HOME OF THE BRAVE)

Top layer, red:

Passõa and gin/vodka, roughly 50/50

Middle layer, white:

French 75

Bottom layer, blue:

Sour apple liqueur

Blue Curacao, for adjusting colour (you won’t need much)

Shake the blue and red layer separately with ice, and prepare French 75. Layer into a champagne flute with some crushed ice in it (crushed ice helps red layer to float on top, please don’t replace with ice cubes).

In my honest opinion French 75 is THE best champagne cocktail if you’re planning to get wasted with bubbly, hence I chose it as a basis of the drink. Red layer serves a similar “initial shock” as a plain Russian vodka in “Rise and Fall of The Madman” earlier; there is no actual need for “the dessert” after a delicious French 75, but The Blue Bottom, familiar from drinks above, is there pretty much for visual reasons.

(If you didn’t know… French 75 was named after World War I artillery piece, “it hits hits you like French 75mm” :D)

Oh, I almost forgot about our bad guy…

LEX LUTHOR (HE FORGOT HIS ORANGE WIG HOME, THAT’S WHY HE IS BALD)

3 parts champagne

1 to 2 parts sour apple liqueur

some Fernet Branca or Jägermeister or Gammel Dansk on top

Build into a champagne flute with some crushed in it, top with a bitter of your choice.

This is not a very good cocktail, Lex doesn’t deserve such a thing. I designed it as a means to dispose leftover champagne (in the strange case you don’t use it all on French 75s). The drink starts with a brute slap in the face and continues into a green part (representing kryptonite, Lex’s last hope against Superman) which tastes kinda bland: add some simple syrup if you want to enhance the aroma… but instead of that this bubbly cocktail should be sipped in the silent contemplation: “what can I do in the future to prevent a tyrannical psycho ever entering White House again?”

Happy Halloween. See you November 3rd.