Friday Cocktail: The tobacco-infused Cig'nature
Despite the somewhat predictable demise of The Marlboro Man, there are a number of ingenious ways to enjoy tobacco without breaking The Rules. Here's one of them: the Cig'nature cocktail devised by Barts, a bar billed as London's finest speakeasy. Its key ingredient is Perique Tobacco Liqueur, made from hand-picked Perique Louisiana; rare, fruity pipe tobacco grown by a handful of pipe-smoking aficionados. The distillation process is similar to that of gin (with tobacco subsituted for juniper berries), and removes carcinogens whilst leaving a trace of nicotine. But back to the cocktail itself. The Cig'nature also comprises of Lindisfarne Mead (a fortified wine infused with honey and herbs), Perrier-Jouet champagne and lemon juice. Assuming you're not utterly terrified, it's available - along with two other Perique Tobacco cocktails - from the Barts Goes Up In Smoke menu.
THE CIG'NATURE
INGREDIENTS:
65ml Lindisfarne Mead 25ml Perique Tobacco Liqueur 15ml Lemon juice Top of pineapple juice - roughly 15ml.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Put all ingredients into a cocktail shaker, shake well, double strain into a chilled champagne coupe. Top with Perrier-Jouet champagne. Garnish with squeezed orange zest, wipe orange zest around the rim, half slice the orange zest, put on the side of the coupe and serve.
Sounds interesting, but since I don't smoke or drink, I'll decline trying it. I'll stick with Pop & fruit juice.