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Just by the title, most of you will already know what this blog post is about, but some of you probably won’t. Death in the Afternoon is a cocktail Hemingway invented and enjoyed, and yes, it is made with Absinthe!
Absinthe Cocktail “Death in the Afternoon”: The Context
Death in the Afternoon, which is sometimes also called the Hemingway or Hemingway Champagne, is a classy drink. As one can imagine by its name, it has been invented by Ernest Hemingway, whom the majority of you should already be familiar with as a famous Absintheur. If you still need some more knowledge about Mr. Hemingway, this site will give you a good overview: The Legend of Ernest Hemingway.
The cocktail shares a name with Hemingway’s 1932-written book Death in the Afternoon. The drink was as well featured in the 1935 Cocktail book Breath in the Afternoon. Rumor has it that Hemingway invented the cocktail, after he spent some time in Paris. As France has such a strong history when it comes to Absinthe, it seems very reasonable.
Death in the Afternoon: The Cocktail
Heads up: A Death in the Afternoon is a very strong drink. What you will love about this cocktail is the sparkling. Unfortunately, it will pass very quickly, so enjoy it while it’s there! This is what you need to prepare the drink:
- 150 ml Champagne
- 20 ml Absinthe (you can take a clear Absinthe like Absinthe Suisse La Bleue or even better Wormwood Bitters if you don’t want it to change the color of the Champagne)
- Lemon twist
- Champagne glass
How to prepare the drink:
A Death in the Afternoon Absinthe Cocktail is super quick & easy to prepare. But at the same time it is a very elegant drink. First, you give the Absinthe into the Champagne glass, and then you add the Champagne. After that you can garnish the drink with a lemon twist, but there are of course other options (rose petal, gold flakes etc.). You can also add a sugar cube, if you like it a bit sweeter, this looks nice in the glass, as the Champagne bubbles slowly but effectively dissolve the cube. The Champagne gets as well cloudy as soon as the Absinthe begins to louche.
Question of this post: Did you know the drink Death in the Afternoon? And if so, where did you learn about it, and how do you like it? Tell us in the comments or on our Facebook page! Here you can check even more Absinthe Cocktails recipes.
Much Love,
Nico from the ALANDIA Team