I don’t know about you, but I don’t often find myself asking, “What would Owen Wilson drink?” In fact, I almost never do. That was right up until Alice forced me to watch “Midnight in Paris.” It had practically everything going against it: a Woody Allen movie, it’s slow, based in Paris, full of pretentiousness — or so I thought. Turns out it’s a winner! I then had to go on the line to find the perfect drink to compliment it. The Parisian!

At first glance, I thought it might be a little too on the nose — I mean, drinking a Parisian while watching “Midnight in Paris?” Then, of course, I realized subtlety has never been my strong suit. Naturally, doubling down on the Paris action was in order.

Much like our titular star (Mr. Wilson himself), this cocktail celebrates something that isn’t always a star: vermouth.

Vermouth? Yessir. It’s not just for Martini’s anymore.

The Parisian is a cocktail where the vermouth takes center stage, unlike the myriad of cocktails where it’s purely a supporting player. In this one, it’s front and center getting some supporting notes from gin (that’s flipping the ol’ Martini on its head) and crème de cassis.

When you’re making a cocktail that really lets the vermouth shine, you need to pick a quality vermouth. We’re big fans of the vermouth our friends over at La Quintinye Vermouth Royal are making. In the Parisian, there’s the dry, which is lightly spicy and floral.

Now that you have your vermouth, it’s just a matter of mixing it together with its supporting players.

Onto the Parisian, which is now on the line (yes, that’s twice I’ve quoted “The Internship,” showing that my knowledge of Own Wilson in semi-starring roles knows no bounds)!

 

June 23rd, 2015 | by morgan