Okay, so the other day I was feeling a bit fancy and wanted to try something new, you know, step out of my usual beer-and-wine routine. I’d heard about this Napoleon cocktail somewhere, and the name itself sounded cool, like something a historical badass would drink. So, I thought, why not give it a shot?
First thing I did was hit up the internet to see what this thing was all about. Turns out, there are a bunch of different recipes for it. Some folks use gin, others use bourbon – it’s like a choose-your-own-adventure kind of cocktail. There was even some stuff about vermouth, lemon juice, and even egg whites! I don’t think I’m ready for egg whites in my drink. One website, which looked pretty old-school, mentioned Dubonnet, but I’ve never heard about this.
After browsing through a few different versions, I decided to go with a simpler one, mainly because I didn’t have half the stuff they were talking about. This version just needed gin and some orange liqueur called Curacao. I had some gin left over from a party, but no Curacao. A quick trip to the liquor store later, I had my Curacao.
Now, the recipe was super simple:
- A dash of Curacao
- A glass of dry gin
It just said “shake well and strain.” I don’t have a fancy cocktail shaker, so I just used a mason jar with a lid, and it works okay. Put some ice in the jar, added the gin and Curacao, and shook it like crazy for about a minute. Then I poured it into a glass, using a regular kitchen strainer to keep the ice out. I’m not sure if this is the right way, but it worked!
And there it was, my homemade Napoleon cocktail. It looked pretty decent, if I do say so myself. The taste? Pretty strong, I won’t lie. Definitely not something you’d chug down. It had a nice citrusy kick from the Curacao, and the gin gave it that, well, gin-like flavor. I can’t say it’s my new favorite drink, but it was fun to make and try something different. Maybe next time I’ll try a different recipe, or maybe I’ll just stick to my good old beer. Who knows?
