The dark and devious-sounding Necromancer cocktail is actually a floral and fresh-flavored affair.
As a nerdy child of the 1980s and 1990s, and an Army Brat that constantly moved around, being the bespectacled new kid every couple of years really took a toll as I got older. Especially when some of my fellow students at school decided I’d make a great punching bag. The good news was that other outsider kids recognized their own and would always take me in. It’s how I discovered Dungeons & Dragons in the late eighties.
My friends and I would sleep over each other’s houses every weekend, just about, and we’d grab bags of chips and untold gallons of Dr. Pepper and Mountain Dew, ready for all-night sessions of Gary Gygax’s epic ode to imagination. We fought dragons, of course, infiltrated the holdfasts of devious warlords and spent months trying to escape from a goblin prison. My memories of these adventures are fairly vivid, and to this day, I still enjoy playing the computer game versions, as I have no adult friends willing to risk their marriages for regular occurrences of rolling some 20-sided dice with me. When my girlfriend discovered my love of D&D, she glibly remarked that I was lucky I’m cute.
Tonight’s cocktail made me think of those late nights listening to Iron Maiden and battling orcs and such with my middle school buddies. The Necromancer sounds like it would be a dark and pungent potion, reeking of bats’ wings while tendrils of smoke wafted from the goblet’s rim. But the truth is much different regarding this recipe. It’s actually a bright and floral sipper, comprised of elderflower liqueur, absinthe and Lillet Blanc. Invented by mixologist Mayur Subbarao in Manhattan’s trendy West Village, the Necromancer tipple continues the tradition of powerfully potent cocktails that jokingly can raise the dead.
What is the best alcohol to use to make a Necromancer Cocktail?
Three rich and flavorsome libations are required to craft this bright and enticing potion. The sweet and honeyed Lillet Blanc, the elderflower-infused St-Germain and the anise-forward, licorice-like charms of absinthe. For a while, absinthe had this reputation as being hallucinogenic due to the presence of wormwood—an outdated claim—but the spirit is quite easily available these days, and it won’t make you go crazy either. That’ll either relieve or disappoint you.
Ingredients
- 3/4 ounce absinthe
- 3/4 ounce Lillet Blanc
- 3/4 ounce elderflower liqueur
- 3/4 ounce lemon juice
- 1 dash gin
- Lemon twist for garnish
Instructions
- Add the absinthe, Lillet Blanc, elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, and gin to a cocktail shaker.
- Fill the shaker with ice and shake well.
- Double strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with a lemon twist.
Nutrition
What glassware and garnish are used?
Chill a cocktail coupe in your freezer for up to 15 or 30 minutes before shaking and pouring your drink. This will make your beverage extra cold and crisp. Garnish with a lemon twist on the rim.
What is the best gin to dash into this drink?
The recipe calls for a dash or splash of gin, and for a classic-styled tipple such as the Necromancer, a juniper-forward London Dry gin like a Bombay Sapphire will bring some extra subtle herbaceous notes to each sip.
Similar drinks to the Necromancer cocktail
The Necromancer cocktail might sound sinister and dark, but it’s really anything but. There are other beverages out there that “claim” to raise the undead, or have spooky names associated with them, like tonight’s. If you’re curious about these underworld-inspired drams, then check out a few of the recipes below.
- Corpse Reviver No. 2 – Gin, triple sec and Lillet Blanc help raise the dead.
- Zombie – This Tiki favorite is a potent and powerful eye-opener.
- Corpse Reviver No. 1 – The first Reviver is a cognac-based beverage.
- Vampire’s Kiss – Ruby red and fruity, this is another drink that celebrates the creatures of the night.
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