Food - Drink
Widow's Kiss: A Historic Garden Cocktail In A Glass
By MICHELLE WELSCH
A Widow's Kiss is a cocktail whose name alone stirs intrigue, but throughout this libation's enduring history, the recipe has changed a lot. It originally called for French liqueurs shaken with apple brandy, and it had an herbal flavor with refreshing notes of fruit and eucalyptus.
The Widow's Kiss disappeared during Prohibition when one of the key ingredients, brandy, was severely hit by restrictive laws. While Prohibition didn't last, speakeasies did, and bartenders set out to preserve the secretive atmosphere and culture by re-introducing older recipes like the Widow’s Kiss.
Bartender Jim Meehan made alterations to the Widow's Kiss by scaling up the brandy, slashing the liqueurs, and stirring instead of shaking it. Another bartender, Deke Dunne, however, reduced the brandy, added Cognac, and cut the original amounts of Bénédictine and Chartreuse.