At a recent trip to the local booze store, I stumbled across Benedictine.  They normally never stock it being that’s it’s pretty standard grocery store booze options at this store. I had always wondered what it was all about.  So I picked up a bottle. Why not!

I also picked up a bottle of Absinthe on the way to the register. Why? Well, I do still have both of my ears. There is little risk of doing a Van Gogh on myself from drinking it so far….

Benedictine has this legendary claim that only three people at one time knows the recipe.  It’s a blend of 4 different distillations of various herbs and other aromatic items that create this mystery flavor. Notes of honey and vanilla. The the flavor of who the hell knows. Some herbal something. All I can say is it’s quite tasty.  Just a bunch of liquor goodness.

I wanted to make a cocktail with Benedictine. I didn’t want to make the popular “B & B”. It comes in its own bottle and is the main way it is sold nowadays. 

Another option was The Singapore Sling.  Great name. It had a bunch of fruit juice that I did not have. I didn’t feel like a Hawaiian tourist at the moment.  Maybe some other day.

Lo and behold, I discover the Chrysanthemum Cocktail in a vintage bartender’s handbook.  You can tell it’s a vintage cocktail from the enormous amount of vermouth it contains.   And it requires Absinthe.  Perfect!!!!

• 2 oz dry Vermouth
• 1 oz Benedictine
• 1 scant tsp Absinthe

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a large orange peel wedge.

Be very very very very very careful with the amount of Absinthe you add.  In the trial run of this cocktail I learned my lesson and added about 2 tsp of Absinthe. The result was a licorice straight shot…. Did I mention be VERY careful with the Absinthe amount?

The final result of a correctly made Chrysanthemum is very herbaceous and warm yet quite simple. It just comes across as an old time prohibition era cocktail. It’s balanced to the point of noticing all of the flavors over the vermouth base. It goes with a rainy night. With the fortified wine base, you can have a couple before the low ABV gets to you.  A good opportunity to have one this week!