Astrophage – A “Project Hail Mary” Literary Cocktail
Fancy drinks based on the books that I love may be slightly off brand for The Buslife Kitchen, but what can you do? When inspiration takes you, you have to follow it. So, apologies to those readers who are only here for the woodsy gourmet stuff, right now I am really enjoying putting together these literary cocktails.
If you haven’t yet seen Project Hail Mary, you should see it. It’s an excellent film. And if you haven’t read it, you should do that too. It is a better book. The story comes from the same author as The Martian, and has a similar feel to it, with plenty of light-hearted humor propelling readers and viewers through what would otherwise be a pretty harrowing space mission.
As a warning, there are a few minor spoilers in the description of this cocktail, but they really shouldn’t mess anything up for you. If you’ve even so much as seen a trailer for the Project Hail Mary film, then I won’t be telling you anything that you don’t already know.
The cocktail here is a play on a Boulevardier that I’m calling Astrophage, after the nemesis of the story. In the book, astrophage are microscopic space-dwelling organisms that consume the energy of the sun. When they enter our solar system, they begin to diminish the power of our star, thus dooming life on earth. They are presented as tiny black dots that move about by expelling infrared light. To pay homage to these microscopic nemeses we have a deeply red cocktail garnished with ground black sesame seeds — but there’s a bit more to it than that.
There are two major characters in Project Hail Mary, an astronaut named Dr. Ryland Grace and a rock-like alien called Rocky. Grace is an American, so the base spirit chosen was, of course, bourbon, but it gets a wash with toasted sesame oil to tie it in with that garnish. In honor of Rocky, the garnish also includes some nice coarse salt.
The other traditional elements of a Boulevardier are Campari and sweet vermouth, and both of these stay. Given the salty garnish, however, the drink needed a bit of extra sweetness in the mix. A splash of ruby port brings things back to balance — unlike the centrifuge in the film, am I right? — deepens the red color, and gives the flavor a beautiful roundness.
So, there you have it, the Astrophage: a sesame-washed Boulevardier with a splash of ruby port and a salty black-sesame rim. It is sweet, salty, and bitter, with strong aromatic components and a satisfying roundness. Amaze, amaze, amaze, if you will.
Astrophage - A Project Hail Mary Literary Cocktail
Ingredients
Method
- You’ll need to start this one a bit ahead of time, by sesame-washing the whiskey. Add the bourbon and toasted sesame oil to a glass jar, seal it, shake it, and leave it on the counter for a day.
- The next step is to filter out the fat. Toss the whiskey in the freezer for a few hours, or until the oil solidifies, then carefully strain it out with a coffee filter. The bourbon will now have a strong sesame aroma to it, and can be stored at room temperature.
- To make the cocktail, start by preparing your glass. Grind up a tablespoon or so of toasted black sesame seeds in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder and then mix this with an equal measure of coarse salt and spread it over a small plate. Wet the rim of a rocks glass slightly and then roll it in the mixture to adhere it to the outside.
- As for the drink itself, simply combine all of the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir until nicely chilled. Add a large ice cube to the rocks glass and then strain the cocktail overtop.
If you enjoy this one, be sure to also check out my other literary cocktails:
Dunk & Egg – Based on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R. R. Martin
The Outlaw – Based on Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins