Astronomy: Today we
are treated to a Blue Moon, which the Old Farmer’s Almanac calls the “Full Red Moon”, and
others call the Fruit Moon or the Corn Moon or that bright thing which makes
sky watching so difficult.
However, it is argued that
the term as used for today’s full moon is not quite correct because a real ‘blue
moon’ is the third moon in a season with four moons, and even though August has
two full moons, the full moon today is the third moon of the season and there
won’t be a fourth, the September full moon coming after the autumnal equinox…
and there you are.
Well, the Widow is always on
the side of the correct (she still has arguments with people over when our
current millennium started), but she is also on the side of tradition, even a tradition
that is only 66 years old. So call it a Blue Moon if you like.
How better to welcome it but
by sipping on a BLUE MOON cocktail?
This is the classic cocktail
(at least classic to my 1960 cocktail book):
“1½ ounces dry gin
¾ ounce Crème de Yvette
Stir well with cracked ice
and strain into a 3-ounce cocktail glass.
Add the twist of a lemon peel and drop into the glass.”
(If Crème de Yvette or other
Crème de Violette liqueurs are not available, you can always fall back on the
beautiful blue of Curaçao drinks.)
There are two schools of
thought about the ingredients of the original cocktail, both citing Hugo
Ensslin’s 1917 book “Recipes for Mixed
Drinks” as their source. One of them published a recipe not much different from
the above, while the other, the proprietor of a delightful blog called “Cold Glass”, says that it was gin topped with Bordeaux and has a glorious red
color.
Since this month’s second
full moon can be called the Full Red Moon, I think that’s perfect.
 |
| Vintage Printable |
