The Burning Effigy Cocktail
A DRINK OF ICE & FIRE
“Remember, remember the 5th of November, gunpowder, treason and plot; for there is a reason why gunpowder and treason should ne'er be forgot.”
There was no punishment worse than that of treason. A man who acted against king and country would first be dragged behind a horse to the place of his execution, and then, his body scraped raw by the ground, hanged by the neck, but not quite until dead. In an act of literal overkill, his privates would then be cut off, his bowels cut out and ripped from his body, and, finally, his limbs and head chopped off as if he were an autumn-fattened pig instead of a man.
I’ve no doubt, therefore, that sitting in that dank storage cavern underneath parliament, guarding a 2.5-ton cache of volatile gunpowder that could, in theory, explode spontaneously at any time, Guy Fawkes needed a drink. Even before an anonymous letter outed the plot and revealed him as a traitor and a terrorist, he’d have cause to fret and sweat about the possibility of discovery. And for that kind of anxiety, in 1605, the only real remedies were prayer or whisky. Fawkes, a converted Catholic whose agenda was fundamentally a religious one, doubtless knew how to pray.
And I’m sure this is a drink he would have enjoyed.
To be fair, as a Yorkshireman, Fawkes might have been more inclined to a pint of beer than a tipple of whisky, but Yorkshire is riddled with peatlands, so a lad from the moors might have still appreciated a good peaty Scotch whisky on a cold, treasonous night…and they like their ginger too, in that part of the country.
Enter: The Burning Effigy. Normally I do not bother to turn peaty whisky into a cocktail—it is sublime on its own with merely a drop of water or an ice cube to release its soul. But even for a purist, this particular combination of ginger ale, lemon, and smoldering rosemary brings out the best in the spirit, emphasizing the earthy golden tones of the liquor and heightening peaty whisky’s natural smokiness, evoking both the sweet, bitterish flavor of bonfire toffee and the flaming effigies of Fawkes burned yearly on Bonfire Night.
INGREDIENTS
Makes 1
2 oz peaty Scotch whisky, such as Lagavulin or Laphroaig
1 oz fresh lemon juice
Strong ginger ale to top
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Ice & fire
DIRECTIONS
Combine whisky and lemon juice in a glass, and stir. Add ice, and top with ginger ale.
Light a sprig of fresh rosemary on fire, and when it begins to smoke and become fragrant, add to the drink, half-submerging it so you can both taste it and smell it when you sip.
