Hasdrubal's Circuit

For me, mixing a new cocktail is not the hardest part of the creative problem.  Naming a cocktail appropriately is often a tougher task.  For that reason, I've decided to go at it in the opposite direction, i.e., come up with a good name and build a drink around it.  My first sojourn into cocktail creation via this method resulted in the
 

Rondo alla Turca 
 

8 parts Campari

5 parts Kirschwasser

1 part Raki

2 dashes Regans' orange bitters

1 pinch of salt.
 

Stir on ice. Strain. Cocktail glass. Orange twist.

OK, not everyone is going to like it.  But it's firmly built around its name.  Mozart's Rondo alla Turca or Turkish Rondo...now that's a good name for a drink.  Raki for Turkey; Kirschwasser for Austria/Germany; Campari for Italian influences in 18th c. music.

Next, I made the Sherman's March which will be here-documented shortly.

But what really started this off was the desire to create a drink named after my favorite battlefield tactical maneuver in Classical Antiquity, Hasdrubal's Circuit, which he executed at the Battle of Cannae in 216 BC during the Second Punic War.  (For an explanation of the maneuver, go here and watch the 2:00:00 to 2:09:00 portion of my lecture.)  A cocktail of this name must have ingredients from western suprasaharan Africa (since Hasdrubal was Carthaginian), Spain (which was occupied by Carthage and was a staging ground for the transalpine invasion of Italy), and Italy (obviously for the Roman Republic).

Tuesday night cocktail hour(s) (cont. iii)

Natalie hadn't graced Tuesday Night Cocktail Hour(s) since the very first event, and so I was especially excited to have her over.

She asked for something light and refreshing and mentioned that she'd been drinking Pimm's Cups recently. The Pimm's Cup's cucumber reminded me of the Juliet & Romeo, which matched her request. The Juliet & Romeo is the signature cocktail of The Violet Hour which, in my opinion, is by far the best bar in Chicago.

2 oz London dry or Hendrick's gin (I used Plymouth)
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
3/4 oz (2:1) simple syrup
a pinch of salt
3 slices of peeled cucumber
several mint leaves
Muddle ingredients, then shake over ice, and double strain into a cocktail glass. Lay a rubbed or slapped mint leaf on the surface of the drink and place 3 drops of Angostura bitters on the surface, as well. Garnish with a cucumber slice.

One always gets lots of compliments on fabulous cocktails, especially if the drinker has never heard of it. No difference here. Natalie's eyes widened with pleasure on her first sip. Then, over the next few mintues she said that it was her new favorite cocktail and (I think) that it was the best cocktail she's ever had. She ordered a second when she finished it. I wasn't surprised that that reaction. It is an amazing drink. Thanks to David Wondrich at Esquire for introducing me to it.