Violette Noregarde

Violette Noregarde

The characters from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory lend themselves to creative cocktail creations thanks to their individual stories as they tour Willie Wonka’s factory. I could have chosen any number of options to pursue. There is Augustus Gloop, a glutton who gets sucked away in the chocolate river. Crème de Cacao is a delicious ingredient in a cocktail, no doubt. Mike Teavee, who gets shrunk down to the size of a chocolate bar, could also be a chocolate cocktail muse, or perhaps a “tea” infused one. That would pair nicely with this “Wonkavision” puzzle, since Wonkavision is how Mike meets his fate, after all. For Veruca Salt, the demanding diva who wants it “NOW!”, something salty and premade in a bottle might do the trick.

this white Negroni has me feeling blue

Let’s not forget Charlie Bucket, our hero, who nonetheless sneaks a little ‘Fizzy Lifting Drink” along the tour and almost floats away. A nice gin fizz would have been perfect. But in the end I chose Violet Beauregarde, who holds a world record for chewing gum. She nabs a prototype piece of gum that tastes like a three-course meal: first tomato soup, then roast beef with baked potato, and finally blueberry pie with ice cream. Unfortunately she then turns into a blueberry. Which is lucky for us, because it gave me the chance to make this blueberry Negroni, which I adapted from a recipe created for Empress Gin by Eva Flores. Oompa Loompa!

a pair with flair

Violet Noregarde adapted from Eva Flores

1 ½ oz gin

1 ½ oz Bitter Bianco

1 oz blanc vermouth

½ oz blueberry concentrate

Stir with ice and strain into a favorite glass. Dust an ice ball with edible glitter.

Blueberry concentrate: Bring 1 cup blueberries, 1 tbs orange zest, 2 tbs sugar, ½ cup water to a boil and simmer on low 10 minutes. Cool and strain (mash berries to extract more juice).

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