Black Water

by the modern serf

The Modern Serf and Serfette hosted a halloween party last weekend. Here’s one of the drinks I made.

I first had this drink on my first visit to my former neighborhood bar, Deep Ellum. I was immediately intrigued by this drink at the top of their cocktail list and featuring Moxie, a soda that made me gag the last time i drank it. He had tried pairing Moxie with nearly every other spirit, but rye whiskey was the only one that could tame it. The recipe, as best as I can approximate:

Build in highball glass:
1.5 oz rye whiskey (I use Old Overholt)
.5 oz lemon
fill with ice
top with Moxie
garnish with spent lemon wedge

Depending on my mood or to whom I’m serving it, I may add up to an ounce of simple syrup; Moxie has very little sweetness on its own, so you’ll probably want to do that if you’re expecting Jack ‘n’ Coke -like sweetness.

The reason for Moxie’s weird taste, and its unexpectedly good pairing with whiskey, is Gentian. Gentian is a component in a lot of bitters and aperitifs; one could reasonably approximate Moxie by adding a good portion of Angostura bitters to root beer. While this makes for an unappealing soft drink on its own, the whiskey and citrus help tone it down and make a well-balanced drink.

Also, according to wikipedia:
Moxie has also grown in popularity in recent years in regions of southern Maine and Connecticut due to its mixability with certain spirits. Notable Moxie mixed drinks include the “Welfare Mom”, which consists of equal parts Diet Moxie and Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy; the “County Girl”, a drink made up of one part bourbon whiskey and two parts Moxie on the rocks, with an optional lime garnish; the “Ninja,” a triple shot consisting of one part Moxie, one part vodka, and one part orange juice; the “Mad Mailman”, a mixture of Moxie and Jägermeister; and “The Vijay”, which consists of one part Moxie and one part blended American Whiskey. Many people, even those who do not like the soda on its own, find it refreshing when mixed with whiskey.

I have yet to try any of those recipes. Alas, I have used up all of the Moxie I bought nearly a year ago making drinks at this party, so I won’t be trying them anytime soon. However, if any of you out there in blogland want to take the plunge, I’d love to hear from you.