TREN FANTASMA

Ingredients:
  • 1oz Lustau Manzanilla Papirusa
  • 1oz Lustau Vermut Blanco
  • 1/2tsp Absinthe
  • 3/4oz Simple Syrup
  • 3/4oz Lime Juice
  • 3 Thai Basil Leaves, Lightly Muddled
Preparations: Add Thai Basil, Lime & Simple to tin, lightly tap to express the flavors of the basil. Add the Absinthe, Vermouth & Sherry. Whip shake on a small handful of crushed ice & dump into a highball or other tall glass. Top with crushed ice, garnish with a fresh Thai Basil & Dehydrated Lime Wheel Put a straw in & enjoy!
Garnish: Gold Star and Nonpareils
Glassware : Highball
Inspirations: There is something that has always clung to me about Lustau’s dry sherries and even their vermouths, and that is the ghostlike nuances that dance on the horizon when you taste them. There is a different journey that every bottle of Lustau takes you on. Some favorite cocktails of mine have been amplified tenfold by utilizing these nuances with Lustau; The Bamboo, or the Tuxedo No.1 for example, just work better if they’re focused around those subtle notes. This cocktail is the journey I imagine myself & others going on. My cocktail, Tren Fantasma, or Ghost Train, is a tribute to those subtleties, prepared in the form of another classic cocktail where those flavors shine like a candle in the night; the swizzle. The mild salinity & dryness of the Manzanilla sherry pierces through the herbaceous & floral mist of flavor carried by the Vermut Blanco, like a train cutting through a foggy night. The absinthe is merely an accent to the fog, the louche effect providing a quiet nod to the journey. The thai basil is a passenger and its destination is clear; comfort & home lie ahead.