O Canada, part II (Captain Canuck, Wendigo)

It’s frrreezing in Finland now, even here in the Southern part of the country. The weather inspired me to think about heroes/villains from the northern hemisphere… so it’s time to check out Canadian comic book characters again!

You can find the first “O Canada” post here.

CAPTAIN CANUCK

Top layer, white:

Bols Natural Yoghurt

Bottom layer, red:

3 parts De Kyuper Sour Rhubarb

1 part sambuca

couple of dashes of lemon juice

couple of dashes of orange juice

gentle dash of Tabasco sauce

(few drops of sarsaparilla syrup)

red grenadine, should you desire to adjust the colour

Shake layers separately with ice and layer into an old fashioned glass with plenty of ice in it, white on top. Serve with a straw.

I don’t know about you guys, buy I’m kinda fed up with the idea that every single cocktail with Canadian theme should contain maple syrup. Nothing wrong with that, but could we pleeeez have at least one drink without it?

So… Nothing “strikingly Canadian” here (besides the colour theme). I just wanted to create a nice drink with many nuances, maybe with “some brisk Northern breeze” in it.

No, not “outright freezing”, as in Captain Cold, Iceman, Killer Frost or Mr. Freeze… not a blizzard, but a delightfully chilly autumn morning; you know, when air smells fresh – the sun is shining warmly, but occasionally the Northern wind brings its greetings from the Ice Sea.

Wow, poetic… but I feel I kinda fell short of what I had in mind… but nevertheless, it’s a pretty enjoyable drink. Alternate between the layers with a straw: in languid American jokes Canada and its residents are always lame and meek… No, I say; I admire Canada, and this drink proves that it is a big country with lots of features – it sure is more than a safe haven for American draft dodgers (or whatever lame joke you had in mind). I hope I can visit British Columbia one day, as I ranted in my first “O Canada”-post.

And moving on to the next drink…

WENDIGO

1 part De Kyuper Blueberry

1 part Triple Sec

1 part kirschwasser

2 to 3 parts coconut cream

Shake furiously with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with plenty of ice in it.

I still remember reading this when I was 12 years old…

Jeez, it scared the hell outta me! But still Wendigo fascinated me, and that fascination has carried to this very day. That particular issue has a special place in my memories.

So there is a lot of design philosophy behind Wendigo The Cocktail: when you gaze the ingredients of the drink, you’ll think “Whaaat?!? This looks more like a tropical cocktail than a namesake drink of a monster in the Northern wilderness?!?”

Normal human transforms into an unfathomable beast – “tropical” ingredients turn into a savage cocktail.

You can taste all the “sweet and gentle” aromas: blueberry, coconut… but it’s not just the harsh kirschwasser which turns the whole into something threatening, it’s the sum of them all.

I’m pretty pleased with Wendigo The Cocktail… well, I’m biased since the white hairy beast was one of my favourite comic book abominations as a kid. Anyway, I hope you like it.

By the way… briefly I was pondering if I should try to create something carnal or “meaty” (is it a proper word?), cannibalism being a central theme with Wendigo… but then I remembered my first take on Sabretooth: I liked it, but it turned out I was pretty much the only one 😐

So no bouillon, no “meatiness”… just transforming ingredients into something surprising and mean.

What’s next? Hmm, maybe I should try gathering all the inspiration from this cold weather…?