Day 43: Swan vs. Swan

Brown Feather would not
sound as appetizing

Last night I had to make a rare trip away from the Bottle Wonderland Estate.  When I returned Mrs. Bottle was waiting to make our next drink.  I had already looked at the ingredients and wasn’t hopeful about how it would taste.  “Tonight’s drink is going to be bad” I speculated.  “I don’t care” replied Mrs. Bottle, “I’m going to drink it all anyway.”   I guess she had a bad day.  If we ever talked I would probably have more details to share.

The aforementioned drink is the Black Feather, a mix of brandy, dry vermouth, triple sec, and angostura bitters.  I wouldn’t call this drink my favorite, but it wasn’t altogether unpleasant. The brandy flavor shines through with just a hint of sweetness thanks to the triple sec.  It is the type of drink where if I had it on a regular basis I would probably start to really enjoy it.  We only have  about 1,460 more drinks to try before we can start thinking about adding a new drink to the standard rotation, so I will be sure to stock up on brandy and vermouth in early 2015.  Based on history, we will probably have some of our current supply left so that won't be necessary.

The name Black Feather reminds me of the scene in Black Swan where Nina (Natalie Portman), who is embracing her role as the sensual Black Swan, begins to sprout black feathers from her back.  In a panic, she goes to see her understudy Lily (Mila Kunis).  Nina and Lily have a complex relationship since they are bitter rivals yet find themselves strangely attracted to one another.  When Lily unlocks herself from Nina's sultry gaze, she plucks a feather from Nina's back.  Much to Lily's surprise, the feather is actually a bomb that explodes and instantly kills her.  Needless to say, this was shocking to see.

My memory isn't what is used to be, so I may have some of that last bit conflated with a Spy vs. Spy episode. 

Black Swan Poster

Overall Rating for the Black Feather

Taste: 3

Presentation: 4 – Classy with a lemon twist

Ease of Preparation: 3 – Making a lemon twist is tricky

Drinks Until Blackout: 4 –25% alcohol

Ingredients

1 oz Brandy

1 oz Dry Vermouth

.5 oz Triple Sec

1 dash Angostura Bitters