The classic New Orleans cocktail, The Obituary, can hit the mark at any home gathering during this time of the year.
America’s most haunted metropolis, New Orleans, has given us Anne Rice’s vampires, a version of voodoo, above-ground burials and celebratory jazz funerals.
You could say that death becomes it.
Now you can savour the city from the comfort of your own couch by imbibing a potent cocktail that riffs of that heritage.
The Obituary is a bold martini-like drink, that mixes gin, vermouth and a dash of anise-absinthe, also known as the green fairy.
This absinthe-laced dry martini was popularised during the 1940s at Café Lafitte, and is regarded as one of the Crescent city’s signature drinks.
It is also in keeping with a more general mixology heritage that plays to the potency of some of its concoctions.
The menu of deathly drink options you can order includes the corpse reviver, also gin-based and featuring absinthe; death in the afternoon, an absinthe and champagne coupe; the zombie, which serves up three different rums, or a vampire's kiss, a mix of vodka, raspberry liqueur and champagne.
The Obituary is the subject of a recently published book of the same name by social historian, journalist, and author Sue Strachan, who has written extensively about New Orleans, its culture, food, history, and current events.
She says that this is the time of year to raise a glass to it.
"There is a certain buzz in the French Quarter. The only other time of year that you experience the same feeling is during Mardi Gras.
"You could say that there's a thinning of the veil. It's a time of year when we celebrate All Saints Day and visit loved ones in above-ground tombs."
Like a good obituary, this book shares stories about the drink, beginning with its origins at Café Lafitte, a stomping ground for the city's café society, which included Tennessee Williams and Irish American restaurateur Ella Brennan, who coined the term and popularised the jazz brunch.
In it she also explores the history of the cocktail's ingredients and shares recipes for home bartenders.
You can buy it directly from the author here.
She is not alone in having, ahem, a death wish to resurrect interest in the drink.
Last year, Financial Times columnist and cocktail expert Alice Lascelles penned a love letter to the martini, a beverage that’s bewitched bartenders, artists, authors, filmmakers and barflies for more than a century.
It too features the Obituary. You can buy it here from Dubray Books.
If you fancy trying it at home, pour, mix and serve the ingredients using an absinthe-coloured green glass shaker, a jigger and two martini glass set, €54.00, from Oliver Bonas.
There are many ways to serve it, from affordable stemmed glasses for €3 each at Ikea to the very practical and pretty Garnish, a stemless version available in two colourways from Anthropologie, €18 per glass, shown in the lead shot.
For a slightly more gothic interpretation, try the Americana coupe, €44.95 for a set of six at Meadows & Byrne.
Other bar accessories worth bringing colour to the occasion include Ola alphabet coasters, €11.50 each, from Oliver Bonas.
