In honour of St. Patrick’s Day and the soon-to-be arrival of spring.
I was out in Calgary for the weekend to see Pete (and to make a lot of chili for our annual Super Bowl party). We had finished grocery shopping and Pete wanted to show me one of his new favourite stores. He took me to the very coolly named Vine Arts for a look.
The store specializes in bitters, unique bar equipment and a unique assortment of amaros, gins, scotches and some pretty interesting digestives.
It was there that we came across Verveine. The glowing green bottle beckons. I had never seen it before, so of course we had to buy it. Erik, the assistant manager, mentioned that it is related to verbena, and that the Chinese used the plant to dye clothing. A somewhat strange fact. Pete and I both love verbena, so we figured that this had to be good.
We brought it home and cracked it open. First try was neat. It had a slightly lemony (as could be expected) taste and was somewhat sweet. This also made sense because it is made from mixing macerated verbena leaves with ten other herbs and meadow honey. This results in a flavour that is sweet and slightly lemony. Do not be fooled by the appearance, it is also 35% alcohol by volume. It is made in France, by Bigallet, a company specializing in unique digestives since 1872.
Next up, on ice and then the standby, with soda. We had to use Pellegrino, because the bottle complimented the Verveine!
The Vertini
What you need:
- Verveine – 1 oz
- Vodka (Green Mark if you have it) – 1 oz
- Martini Shaker
- Martini Glass
- Ice
What you do:
- Fill martini shaker with ice
- Add Verveine
- Add Vodka
- Shake
- Strain into a chilled martini glass
Feel like something little lighter? Try a lighter version, a Vertini-ini by topping with Pellegrino
I’m sure that Pete will continue to experiment with the Verveine when I am back in Toronto, so there may be new drink recipes down the road.
If any of you have seen the play “Wicked”, it is explained that Elphaba is green because before she was born, her mother, the unfaithful Melena, was given a strange green ‘Elixir’ by the stranger that she then had an affair with while in the Emerald City. The ‘Elixir’ then caused the child to be born with unnaturally green skin.
It must have been Verveine!
I MUST try this – any chance it is available in Ontario>
I sadly have only seen it in Calgary. I have written to the company to see if they can let me know where in Canada it is sold and will let you know.
UPDATE: There is a possibility that we can get Verveine in Ontario, through the distributor, BoldWorks. If anyone is interested, let me know.
Thanks!