One ugly mother… (Abby Arcane, Floronic Man, Predator)

In April 10th 2021 it’s been exactly 30 years from the unfortunate death of Kevin Peter Hall, the most iconic monster actor since the invention of cinema.

To commemorate him and his work I shall publish a cocktail, inspired by the movie monster he brought alive.

• 

PREDATOR (over here…)

Pour some Midori and kirschwasser into the highball glass, stir and add plenty of ice. Then…

2 parts vodka

3 parts dry white wine

2 parts Midori

1 parts Strega

Stir with ice and strain into the glass but don’t fill it. Top with dry white wine: you’re aiming for “green drink fading to transparent”-look.

So, movie begins… there’s tension, but not much action yet: that’s plain dry white wine. Then we get to the layer where wine and the actual drink start to mix: things get more interesting… and it’s getting more tense, since this is pretty ruthless for a highball-sized drink.

And finally there’s that kirschwasser-Midori-combo: Predator is defeated, sweet victory (Midori)… but it’s Pyrrhic victory because of the self-dectruction device (kirschwasser).

Rest in Peace, Kevin. We’ll miss you.

• 

ABBY ARCANE

Top layer:

Bayou Pink (see below)

Bottom layer:

4 parts cognac

2 parts Pisang Ambon

1 part absinth

Stir parts separately with ice and layer them into an old fashioned glass with plenty of ice in it.

Predator and jungle got me into thinking other characters from moist forests; if not from tropical rainforests, at least from the swamps of Louisiana.

This drink is named after Abby Arcane, but it’s more about unlikely love and how things are not always what they look like at the first glance… pink, sweet colour of fluffy love, is actually pretty harsh in this drink. And that muddy-green bottom part is suprisingly nice.

So, in the rotting Swamps of Louisiana… beautiful young woman falls in love with hideous Swamp Thing. Is it an abomination… or the most beautiful romance of the century?

Related drinks… Swamp Thing (two versions), Anton Arcane, Man-Thing.

About Bayou Pink… I ran into the booze by accident, of course I bought the bottle out of curiosity.

• 

I didn’t have a slightest idea what would mayhaw berries taste like (there’s not even a proper Finnish word for the plant)… now I know, I like to think the taste as “the rowanberries of US South”. Well, not as acrid as rowanberries, but I refuse to admit that I actually can’t describe the taste.

Problematic aroma, though… makes you wanna mix it with something, but as strong as the taste is, it disappears easily. So, I decided to use it as “a clashing layer”, but I’m not giving up so easily… so, maybe some mayhaw berry cocktails coming up in the future?

• 

FLORONIC MAN

2 parts gin

2 parts bourbon

4 parts grapefruit juice, squeezed by hand (leave the pulp in)

(few dashes, up to one part Grand Marnier; see below)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass, add one ice cube.

Another character inspired by Alan Moore’s “The Swamp Thing”… Jason Woodrue might be a villain whose name is forgotten quickly, but Floronic Man inspires me: what would sentient plant life feel like? What would it taste like, as a cocktail?

Somewhat boring, plain… but there would be “violent” streaks of more powerful aromas: think about all the spices and tastes, all the extracts we got out of plants. I think sharp gin and bourbon fulfill this role nicely.

If you feel the ingredients clash too violently, add a splash of Grand Marnier; it “ties up” the whole. Be warned, though: too much Marnier turns the cocktail dull and plain, in the wrong way.

Okay, today’sdrinks: technically about characters from the pages of superhero comics (and from the great movie), but actually they’re trying to describe some feeling cocktail-wise.

Next time: more straightforward superhero cocktails 🙂