Swampwater

Back in 1954 a geology expedition into the Amazon, led by marine biologist Dr. Carl Maia and his team from Brazilian, uncovered the fossilized remains of a skeletal hand with webbed fingers dating from the Devonian period. To help with this amazing, legendary and cinematic find, ichthyologist and former student of Dr. Maia, Dr. David Reed, left his California aquarium to join his mentor on a new quest to track down the remains of this piscine amphibious humanoid, following a lead in the jungle to a secluded black lagoon. Little did they know, the modern day ancestor of that creature had been watching them – and watching in polarized projected black and white light 3D!

Swampwater cocktail updated by Chris Hannah and Konrad Kantor

It all went rather badly for many of the research expedition, and – spoiler alert – for the creature too. If they had just done the civilized thing and offered him a drink, who knows what mankind might have learned. This creature had clearly learned the secrets of a long life, something that has fascinated us for many an age. Perhaps it was he who gave the secret recipe to François Annibal d’Estrées, a noble Frenchman who had an illustrious military and then diplomatic career in the seventeenth century. In 1605, d’Estrées presented a mysterious manuscript containing a recipe for the elixir of long life to the Carthusian monks in Vauvert. The recipe made its way to the Grand Chartreuse monastery in Grenoble, where it was used to create the original Elixir Végétal de la Grande Chartreuse. With 130 herbs and botanicals to work with, the monks rushed the final product in just about 100 years and got it perfect by 1737. The potent Green Chartreuse we drink today, at 55 percent alcohol by volume, was finally introduced in 1764.

time to get swamped

American distributors of the seventies disco era could have accepted the fact that this noble and difficult to drink French spirit would be a challenge to market to such unrefined clientele. But that never stopped any clever sales team, who in this case came up with a tipsy alligator to promote the liqueur to a thirsty American public. They created the “Swampwater”, a surprisingly tasty mixture of green Chartreuse, pineapple and lime juice which was served over ice in a bespoke mason jar. Adds of the era encouraged partygoers to batch up literally gallons of the stuff, with no specifications on how much Chartreuse to use (the more the better!). Much like our maligned creature from the black lagoon, the Swampwater was quickly lost to history. But much like many disco era drinks, it has been reborn, with more modern ratios and balance, in the current cocktail climate which allows that drinks should be fun and not such serious business. One of the best new recipes for this old drink comes from modern bar legend Chris Hannah at Manolito in New Orleans. In it, he dials up the Chartreuse, dials down the pineapple, adds basil for a perfectly herbal compliment to the liqueur, and whips it up frappe style. The original Swampwater was advertised to bite, thanks to Chartreuse’s 110 proof pedigree, and the modern version pulls no punches, either. Trick and Treat!

a primordial pair

Swampwater updated by Chris Hannah and Konrad Kantor, Manolito

2 ½ oz green Chartreuse

¾ oz pineapple

 ½ oz lime

2 basil leaves

15 oz ice

1 oz dry rum (for float)

Blend ingredients and pour into a mason jar. Float rum on top (optional) and garnish with a sprig of mint, or a creature from the black lagoon if you are feeling Halloweenish. Cheers!

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