Two New Cocktails Inspired by the Moon

For the group art show, Lunation:  Art on the Moon, I've come up with two new lunar inspired cocktails.  The Honeymoon, a milk and honey concoction spiked with sandalwood oil, and Dark Side of the Moon, a chocolatey tangerine libation accented with jasmine oil.

The Dark Side of the Moon is made with homemade tangerine vodka which is incredibly easy to make.  The most difficult part is shaving the fragile fragrant peel of the fruit while not taking the bitter pith with it.   I used the skin of one Satsuma tangerine per cup of vodka.  Simply place the peel and vodka in a jar and give it a good shake every few hours and it should be ready in under 24 hours.  Strain out the peel and you're ready to tend bar.


The recipe also calls for homemade creme de cacao.  The store bought variety with it's synthetic chocolate flavor might work but once you've had the real thing you can't conceive of drinking the adulterated version.  

Creme de Cacao

one cup sugar

two cups water

one ounce unsweetened chocolate

one half teaspoon vanilla

one cup vodka

In a medium pan combine sugar and water.  Boil on medium high heat until the mixture is reduced to half its original volume, about 20 minutes.  About five minutes before the syrup is done melt chocolate in a two cup or larger container.  Immediately and very slowly pour hot syrup into the melted chocolate, stirring vigorously while pouring.  If mixture is not completely smooth and blended beat with a  mixer or in a blender.  Cool mixture for 30 minutes.  Add vanilla and vodka.  Blend well.  Immediately pour into a clean sterile bottle or jar with a tight fitting lid or cap.

The secret ingredient of Dark Side of the Moon is the drop of jasmine absolute, diluted to 5% strength.  Jasmine has long been associated with the moon and adds a narcotic floral body to the cocktail.

Dark Side of the Moon

one jigger tangerine infused vodka

one jigger creme de cacao

two drop jasmine absolute, 5%

Give the combined ingredients a good shake and strain into a chilled martini glass, or serve over ice. 

The Honeymoon is made with homemade oat and honey vodka made by soaking rolled oats and honey in vodka for three weeks.  To make one cup of vodka use a half cup of rolled oats and a scant quarter cup of honey.  There are many varieties of honey so pick one you like, preferably a milder one.  Shake it all up in a clean sterile jar and macerate in a cool dark place and make sure to give it a good shake daily.  Filter through a paper coffee filter into a clean bottle.  Straining can be a little challenging so be patient.

The Honeymoon also calls for sandalwood oil in a dilution of 10%, and a teaspoon of Chamomile Water.

                                       

The Honeymoon

one jigger honey oat infused vodka

one jigger milk

one drop sandalwood oil, 10%

1/8 teaspoon chamomile water

Give the combined ingredients a good shake and pour over ice.

A New Perfume for Lunation: Art on the Moon

Observatory Room is hosting it's first ever group-curated show, Lunation:Art on the Moon. 

Artists and scientists have always been attracted to the moon…

Our closest celestial neighbor, the earth’s little sister, the moon creates the tides and illuminates the woods at night. For centuries, humanity believed the moon provided a key into the invisible realm: it called out the beast within us, freeing us to act as wolves, to run, to dance, to chant—and sometimes (as in Duncan Jones’ Moon) to split in two, to find our double, our changeling moon-self.

Is the moon home to life? Today we know it isn’t, but even as of 1830, speculation was rampant that the moon was inhabited by Christianized bat-people who worshiped in great ziggurats. (See The Sun and the Moon by Observatory alumnus Matthew Goodman for details.) Still, life comes to the moon. We know the moon contains frozen water, and we dream of using it as our jumping-off point for visiting even more alien vistas.

Down here, despite all the prowess and nuance of our latest telescopes, earthlings still look up naked-eyed with excitement at the full moon. Lovers and children gaze up at its slowly blinking façade in mute wonder. Artists portray the moon as a source of danger and power, and latter-day sorceresses and men of magic call up to that heavenly lamp, seeking to transcend the ordinary night. For them, the old myths have not changed so much: the moon is still a secret mirror, showing in pale light how the familiar contains always an element of the unexpected…

Herbal Alchemy will be participating in the show by offering up a new perfume for the occasion, Moonrise.  The Greek goddess, Artemis, who represents the new moon, is portrayed in this fragrance by the addition of wormwood (an artemesia) in the top note, supported by bergamot and petitgrain.  Luminous jasmine forms the basis of the heart along with honey and rose, and sandalwood and frankincense form the base chord.

Opening Party: Saturday, January 7th, 7–10 PM, FREE
Closing Party/Observatory’s 3rd Anniversary Fundraiser: Saturday, February 18th, 8 PM/$20
Show Viewing Hours: Thursday & Friday 3–6 PM, Saturday & Sunday 12–6 PM

I'll be serving two special cocktails at the opening party:  The Honeymoon, a sumptuous concoction of oat and honey vodka spiked with sandalwood, and Dark Side of the Moon, a chocolatey jasmine spiked libation.  Hope to see you there!

Teaching Natural Perfume

A selection of natural oils

My Natural Perfume Blending Workshops at 3rd Ward in Brooklyn have been a joy to teach.  It's was enormous fun to introduce students to a selection of essential oils, absolutes and concretes and guide them towards blending their own fragrance.

For most of the students it was the first time they had a chance to smell some of the more exotic and rare oils that a natural perfumer uses.  Ambery labdanum and earthy oak moss were favorite bottom notes for the group.  They swooned over sultry jasmine sambac and orange flower concrete, rich and complex honey and spicy aromatic clove absolute.  Head notes of pink grapefruit, fir needle and black pepper peaked their interest for top notes. 

The January and February classes at 3rd Ward have filled up already but there is a link to get on a wait list for future classes.  I'll also be teaching at Observatory Room sometime this spring.  I've discovered that I love teaching!

Natural Perfume Blending Workshops

Smell is the most neglected of our senses yet it has an instantaneous power to penetrate our consciousness invoking memories and emotion. Odors are ethereal and elusive yet can strongly attract or repel.

As a concerned consumer, you are choosing organic food, seeking out sustainable products and opting for eco-friendly packaging. But what about the fragrance you wear? That signature scent is likely composed of synthetic materials (as most commercial fragrances are), mass-produced, packaged and shipped around the world in the millions of units.   Natural perfumery is a much different process that uses only essential oils and precious absolutes that are extracted from plants. Like fine wine, subtle differences can be found from the same plant from year to year depending on soil conditions and climate meaning that it is not an exact science but a creative alchemical process.

In this sensory workshop we will examine the artisanal art of natural perfumery.  Students will gain a basic understanding of the sense of smell, the history of perfume, the advent of synthetic ingredients and the return to naturals.  Perfume ingredients and formulation will be explored and each participant will leave with two bottles of their own bespoke perfume.

No prior knowledge of perfume making is required.  Students should bring a notebook to class, all other materials will be provided.

3rd Ward
195 Morgan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
Sunday, December 11th
2:30 - 5:300pm

and in 2012...

3rd Ward
195 Morgan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
Thursday, January 19th
7:00 - 10:00pm
and
Saturday, February 11th
1:30 - 4:30pm

The Art of Collaboration: Rachelle Garniez and Her Signature Scent

A few years ago I decided that working collaboratively was going to be far more interesting than anything I could come up with on my own.  After years of insisting on working solo and rejecting any input I suddenly came around to the notion of how creative it could be to work with others.  I've always loved an assignment, someone suggesting a project that has to be worked within guidelines.  A blank white page can be thrilling but often intimidating and overwhelming.  Collaborating is more like working within the guidelines, testing how creative you can be within certain boundaries.  I also enjoy the chance to step outside of working in isolation and having another to share ideas with.

Rachelle Garniez

I met Rachelle Garniez a few years ago at a local music venue.  She was listed on the events calendar as "an accordionist and chanteuse extraordinaire" and I was intrigued.  I loved the show and kept coming back until we finally talked and became friends.  She expressed a love of perfume and as I warmed up to the idea of a collaboration I approached her with the idea of turning one of her songs into a fragrance.  She loved the idea and suggested "Tourmaline", off of her cd, Melusine Years.

After spending some time listening to the song we finally got together to start blending, not sure exactly how to put musical notes to fragrance but we knew we wanted the scent to be uplifting and spirited, like the song.  We loved the tobacco absolute and how it pared with peru balsam.  A touch of ambrette and guaicwood rounded out our bottom chord.  Linden and orange flower absolute became the basis of the heart note with honey absolute, neroli and carnation giving it a bit more edge.  Rosewood and bitter orange top out the fragrance.

I made a limited edition of the perfume for a pair of shows that Rachelle was doing at the locally famous Joe's Pub in Manhattan.  It was a joy for me to dab perfume on the many outstretched wrists after the show.  I mingled with the crowd afterward and got a chance to really smell how the perfume interacted with each woman's particular chemical make-up.

I recently sold the last bottle of Tourmaline.  After seeing Rachelle perform again last night I've decided to make another batch.  Working with those particular oils again transports me back to that long afternoon spent blending while a lost butterfly fluttered around my studio.  Trish at Scent Hive has written a lovely revue of Tourmaline which you can read here.

Rachelle is releasing her new cd, Sad-Dead-Alive-Happy, at Dixon Place in Manhattan on Friday, November 11th at 8:30.  I'll be there dabbing wrists after the show.

New Extracts

Chocolate Mint and Peach Tea extract

Back in June I posted about my absolute obsession with tincturing and macerating.  My garden was in full thrust and I was still heady from my recent trip to Mandy Aftel's natural perfume workshop in Berkeley.  My mission, originally, was to take advantage of my garden to create some alcohol bases to make perfumes with.  I ventured a little further afield and ended up tincturing dried jasmine blossoms and, most rewardingly, tea.

My biggest success was with an organic loose leaf peach flavored tea.  It's difficult to find a fruity note in natural oils so originally I was simply looking for that.  What I discovered was that the extracted liqueur was so much richer and more complex than I could have imagined.  I dabbed it on my wrists constantly all summer long and inhaled deeply that sweet, smokey aroma reminiscent of hundreds of comforting afternoons with my hands wrapped around a warm cup.

My other big success in extract making was with the chocolate mint taking over my community garden plot.  I knew from infusing it in vodka that the alcohol seemed to really extend the chocolate flavor, much more so than in a cup of herb tissane.  I finely chopped up about a cup of mint and poured enough 190 proof vodka over it to cover and let it sit for a few days.  After straining it I added another cup of chopped herb to make it double strength.

I quite naturally started to think about how to use the extracts in food.  I think their flavors would lend themselves to some delicious desserts, most notably ice cream and sorbets.  I started to experiment with using them in seltzer and, not surprisingly, they were delicious.  Peach tea seltzer has now become a favorite of mine and I can't keep enough extract in the house.  As the bubbly glass approaches your nose you can't help but be overwhelmed by it's gorgeous bouquet.  About a half teaspoon to a teaspoon works nicely in a ten to twelve ounce glass of sparkling water.  I'm spoiled now, I'll never again buy a lemon, lime or (horror of horrors) artificial black cherry flavored seltzer again.

My New Krrb

I've been fortunate to have been found by the local networking website, Krrb.com.  They were kind enough to set up a nice "store" for me on their website and spotlighted my potions in their blog.  They seem to particularly like my Viper Oil.

In the '20's folks who smoked medicinal herbs (think Louis Armstrong) were called Vipers. There are a slew of songs from that era including a favorite of mine performed nicely by the 4th Street Nite Owls, "If You're a Viper".

The band and I had an idea for a skin formulation, something akin to Snake Oil, for "taking the sting out" that they could sell at shows. Viper Oil was born out of this brainstorm and uses hemp oil as it's main ingredient.

The hemp oil is combined with an olive oil maceration of comfrey, calendula, plantain, yarrow, red clover, thyme and roses (all grown locally in my garden) and fortified with the essential oils of frankincense, lavender, geranium, hemp, carrot seed and rose.

I had a good time doing some research into old time Snake Oil and could only imagine a barker announcing my "miracle cure".  "Takes the sting out of skin afflictions such as insect bites, cuts, minor burns, abrasions & irritations. Reduces inflammation, soothes your wounds, abates your misery. The wound resolution miracle!"