The Trident
The Trident by Robert Hess
To the good listener, half a word is enough – Danish proverb
I’ll raise a glass of Scandinavian spirit to toast this elegant box – something with aquavit. It affords a perfect opportunity to discuss another great classic cocktail from one of the original troubadours of the cocktail renaissance, Robert Hess. Founder of the Museum of the American Cocktail and DrinkBoy, Hess was a lay superfan in the Nineties who befriended and educated the bartenders of the day. He became a personality in his own right and is credited with a few modern classic cocktails of his own design.
Aquavit is a wonderful spirit to try this season
Hess says he invented the “Trident” cocktail while experimenting with some newly released peach bitters. He built a nautical variation on the classic Negroni, substituting the base spirit gin with herbaceous Scandinavian aquavit, the vermouth with nutty sherry, and the Campari with the vegetal Cynar. Each ingredient hails from a seafaring region. He pulled all the flavors together with a few dashes of peach bitters. I was fresh out of peach bitters, so rinsed the glass with peach liqueur and used orange bitters, which lent the desired hint of flavor and fragrance nicely. On paper, the drink sounds odd, perhaps even disastrous. But just like another one of his famous classics, the Mahogany, it comes together beautifully. The drink was quite popular in Hess’s hometown of Seattle where it remained on extended rotation at the Zig Zag Café for years. And thanks to its well-balanced nature using lower ABV spirits, you’re less likely to act like you have a “stick in the ear*” after a few. Skål!
Scandinavian surprises
The Trident by Robert Hess
1 oz dry sherry
1 oz Cynar
1 oz aquavit
2 dashes peach bitters
Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a favorite glass. Garnish with a lemon twist (or trident) and enjoy while reciting your favorite Danish idiom.
For Robert Hess’s Mahogany cocktail:
*N.B. Guide to Danish idioms:
“stick in the ear” - drunk