Second Moon
Second Moon by Paul MacDonald
Doing all this math has made me thirsty. Whenever I’m in need of a mathematically correct (much more reliable than a politically correct) cocktail, I reach for a recipe from Philadelphia bartender Paul MacDonald, inventor of the Fibonacci cocktail concept. Paul heads the bar at Philly’s Friday Saturday Sunday, an award winning, tasting menu only restaurant on Rittenhouse Square, where he crafts incredible libations to compliment the beautiful food.
shoot the moon
There are many well established cocktail “formulas”, even dating back to the original recipe for Barbados punch “one of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak.” Or the more basic classic cocktail formula of 2:1:1 for spirit, modifier, and sweetener. I like the really simple calculations of an equal parts Last Word or Negroni. MacDonald upped the ante with a playful idea that he executed brilliantly. He relates that he was actually trying to create a cocktail using five different fortified wines (like sherry) in which each flavor could be discerned in sequence. His experiments eventually led to the Fibonacci in Autumn, a delicious drink that uses five spirits in amount ratios that correlate with the first five numbers of the Fibonacci sequence (1:1:2:3:5). He has gone on to create a handful of amazing “Fibonacci” cocktails since then, and recently shared the recipe for another great fall weather option with me, the Second Moon. It features Becherovka, a Czech spirit full of the flavors of autumn, and is much better than my own attempts at creating cocktails with this spirit! I also did the math(s) for this drink, and it adds up to incredible. Cheers!
proof that math is fun
Second Moon by Paul MacDonald
1 ¼ oz Becherovka
¾ oz Amontillado sherry
½ oz Giffard Rhubarb liqueur
¼ oz Bols Genever
¼ oz Bonal
Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a favorite glass over a large cube. No garnish required.