Castaway
Recipe:
- 60ml manzanilla sherry (preferably Bodega Hidalgo La Gitana)
- 7.5ml salted falernum*
- 2ml (1 to 2 dashes) Chartreuse verte
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir well and strain into a cordial glass.
After a fresh bottle of a new falernum arrived today (more on this in the upcoming review), I knew immediately that I wanted to try the Castaway. I had stumbled across it for the first time a few days earlier and was immediately taken with it. Simple three-ingredient drinks, especially with things that could have been mixed together 80-100 years ago, always have their very own fascination and magic. Probably also because they show how inexhaustible the world of high-quality drinks is, even without new product categories.
And just as I was hoping, I really liked it. When I read the original article on PUNCH, I thought to myself "Chartreuse is supposed to give the impression of algae? Well, let's see about that...", but it really does! The maritime, yeasty and dry Manzanilla always has an immediate charm that is reminiscent of rough and rugged coasts. The sweetness and spicy melange of a falernum adds a little depth and suddenly this bitter green note of chartreuse is added, which, together with the salt, does indeed make you think of bitter seaweed chips. A great aperitif drink that should be served in every oyster bar.
Oh, and of course you don't need to completely salt your bottle of falernum as in the original recipe (which - psst - still used Taylor's Velvet, for whom the Seven Keys is the perfect upgrade, as I said more about that later...). If you make the calculations, it comes out to about a small (!) pinch of salt per drink, which you can also add directly to the mixing glass at the beginning. Just make sure that it has dissolved by the time you pour it into the serving glass.
*Salted Falernum
15 grams kosher salt
750-milliliter bottle of falernum
Add the salt to the falernum, then shake the bottle gently for a few minutes until salt is dissolved.
Source: Yanni Kehagiaras, San Francisco, USA
The bottle of Seven Keys Falernum was provided by Perola GmbH, thank you.
