Classic Cocktails – Remember the Maine

When reorganizing my cocktail pictures I realized that I should spent some more time writing about classic cocktails. Paired with the feeling that there are so much excellent cocktails to discover, I just started remixing those recipes. On top of that, this gives me the chance to present an excellent absinthe to you!

The Paul Devoille distillery goes all the way back to 1859. Besides eau de vies, they are renown for distilling excellent absinthe. Devoille separetly distill each botanical for the Absinthe Soixante Cinq and blend them afterwards. Apart from that, they use wine alcohol instead of grain based neutral alcohol for the maceration. In the end, the Soicante Cinq is bottled at 65 % with only natural colourings and without the addition of sugar.

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Powerful anise, fennel and wormwood notes

Obviously, at this ABV and with that much botanicals used, the Soixante Cinq is not meant for sipping it undiluted. However, with a little bit of water you can appreciate the balanced and complex blend of anise, fennel and wormwood. After a while also a certain coriander seed note appears. When it comes to the classic absinthe serve (no lighting sugar cubes!) the Soixante Cinq really can use a bit more water than my go to ratio of 2:1. All in all, it is a great herbal spirit and I am eager to find out how it behaves in cocktails.

Remember the Main, to hell with Spain!

The “Remember the Maine” is a Manhattan variation which pays tribute to the sinking of the USS Main in 1898. Forty years later, Charles Baker mentions the drink in his “Gentleman’s Companion”. In this case, I used the recipe on Kindred Cocktails variation (sort of), but used a tiny bit more absinthe than just a rinse. Apart from that, my good friend Johann from Cocktailbart also has a great article on his blog about the “Remember the Maine”.

The “Remember the Maine” starts with clear Manhattan notes, e.g. the combination of rye whiskey and sweet vermouth. However, the cherry liqueur and the absinthe soon show up on the palate. On the one hand, the cherry liqueur makes you think you dropped a brandied cherry in the cocktail. On the other, the absinthe nicely contradicts the sweetness and brings quite a bunch of herbal notes to the mix. In conclusion, I enjoyed the drink very much and the Soixante Cinq works perfectly in classic cocktails!

*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The absinthe was provided by Lion Spirits.