The French Country Cocktail

This concoction doesn't have much recognizably French in it (unless you include the Violette), so it must be that what inspires me to call it French Country has something to do with the spirit of its flavor.

On an aesthetic level, the spirit of France has been a cultural inspiration throughout the world for at least four centuries. French was once the lingua franca--the chosen language of communication and diplomacy--as English has now become--and as Chinese may someday become.

In England and America, French culture has been held in such esteem partly as a result of its Mediterranean aspect--its taste in food, its liberality of indulgence--but also because it shares with the Anglo nations a tradition of revolutionary freedom and refined intellectualism. In the 19th and 20th Centuries, French art led the way, though that torch was passed to America after World War II.

Above all, the spirit of France is the spirit of light--Paris is often called the City of Light. A spectrum is a panoply of the colors of the spectrum, illuminated by the white light of day. We think of our insights and discoveries and inventions as illuminations, exposing dark areas to our view, revealing truth to the curious mind. The various flavors of this cocktail inspire a sense of lucid translucency.

Ingredients by proportion--

2 parts Tanqueray # 10 Gin

1/2 part cocktail grapefruit

1/2 part fresh lemon juice

1/2 part cinnamon liqueur

1/2 part maraschino liqueur

1/2 Créme de Violette liqueur

Shaken lightly and served up.

So, in the spirit of illumination, a toast to enlightenment!