May Drink of the Month - The "Blade"

Two preface notes before I begin: 1) It is July, not May. I've been a bad online host for all of you. I will aim to fix this over the next few months, starting with today's original concoction. 2) I'm never letting Jonathan Solie name a drink again. He is bad at this game. With those minor concerns addressed, lets move on to a cocktail...

I was purging my spice cabinet last month, when I came across a package of dried hibiscus flowers. I had purchased them over a year ago at the local Mexican grocery, hoping to do something fun with them. Instead, the wound up pushed in the back by other random spice purchases (ras el hanout anyone?), doomed to be forgotten. But by a stroke of luck, I found them recently. And happily, I found them on a day when I was excited to be creative in the kitchen, So I made myself a fresh batch of hibiscus syrup, and all was right with the world. Like most steeped syrups, this one is easy to make - steep 2/3 to 1 cup of dried hibiscus flowers in hot (not boiling) liquid for 15 minutes. Strain to remove solids, and then add an equal volume of sugar to make a 1:1 syrup. Ann recently got roped into multi-level marketing (hello Tupperware - did you know they still exist?), so I benefited with some cool squeezy-top 8 oz bottles for my syrups. They travel well and fit into a mini fridge perfectly, so if you know any tupper-ladies or tupper-fellas (I feel so stupid right now, but that is the actual terminology in their magazines), I highly recommend them.

Once I had my syrup made, I had to decide what to do with it. Hibiscus is tart like a cranberry, with some sweet notes. Add the sugar, and you get something like cranberry lemonade, but with added health bonuses (lower blood pressure! other homeopathic benefits!). I decided I would use this for a sidecar riff (have I mentioned that I love a good sidecar

?), replacing Cointreau with the hibiscus, and subbing in Singani 63* for the brandy. The result is a striking red cocktail that is equal parts tart, sweet, citrusy, and earthy. All that was left to do was name the drink.

This is where the second disclaimer above comes into play. Last weekend, I was in Minneapolis for a wedding. I stayed with my friend Solie, and I made him a variation of this drink (using pisco instead of Singani, because that is all I could find in the Wisconsin liquor mart). I asked for his advice on a name. I knew that our Hispanic friends called hibiscus tea Jamaica, so I was trying to think of something along those lines. Solie had other ideas. That evening, we were watching the classic movie "Blade" with Wesley Snipes (after watching an episode of Community that featured the movie). And Solie, Mr. Creativity, decided that my drink looked like blood, and so he dubbed it the "Blade" cocktail. And the name stuck, because I want to shame him for his lack of effort. So check out the recipe below for the "Blade":

Clearly not my bar...

In a Boston shaker, combine the following:

2 oz Singani 63
1 oz hibiscus syrup
1 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice

Shake over ice, strain, and pour into a cocktail glass. No garnish required, unless you have a fresh hibiscus flower. But who has time for that?

*Singani is a Bolivian muscat brandy. It is similar to pisco, but with a little more fruity/floral notes (almost closer to an eau de vie). Singani 63 is the brand found currently in the states, imported by director Steven Soderbergh (becasue - of course).

I hope you enjoy your "Blade"!