It may sound odd to speak of alcohol during Lent, when many Roman Catholics voluntarily give up strong drink during the forty days prior to Easter and when Eastern Orthodox churches and many Eastern-rite Catholics abstain from wine on Monday through Friday. But in Europe during the Middle Ages, beer was an important source of nutrition and a way of purifying the water from bad bacteria. It was aptly nicknamed “liquid bread” not only on account of its nutritional value but also because it typically including floating bits of bread.
One beer that developed from this tradition is bock. A strong lager (6.3–7.2 percent alcohol) that began in Einbeck, Germany, bock was perfected by the monks of Munich. The Munichers liked the new style just fine, but because of their Bavarian accent, they pronounced Einbeck as ein Bock (“a billy goat”). To this day, goats make a common appearance on bock labels.
There are several styles of bock, but the most religiously significant is the doppelbock, or double bock, developed by the Paulaner monks in Munich for Lent. Indeed, it is said that the monks gave up food entirely during this penitential season and lived entirely on their doppelbock, which was rich in carbohydrates, calories, and vitamins. One intrepid home brewer, J. Wilson, put this legend to the test in 2011, consuming nothing but beer and water for the forty-six days of Lent (including Sundays). Wilson teamed up with brewmaster Eric Sorensen of the Rock Bottom Brewery in West Des Moines, Iowa, to craft a doppelbock they called Illuminator. He then drank four beers a day during the week and five a day on the weekend, when he “had fewer obligations.” Although he lost twenty-five pounds, he gained valuable spiritual lessons. A self-described nondenominational Christian, Wilson found that the fast “provided a long-overdue tune-up and detox,” one in which he “never felt so rejuvenated, physically or mentally.” He concludes:
[The fast] left me with the realization that the monks must have been keenly aware of their own humanity and imperfections. In order to refocus on God, they engaged this annual practice not only to endure sacrifice, but to stress and rediscover their own shortcomings in an effort to continually refine themselves. Though they lived out their faith at a higher degree of daily devotion than the average person, they could sense their loss of focus. Taking nothing for granted, they took steps to rectify that problem on an annual basis.
Tonight, turn to the original Lentenbock, the magnificent Salvator made by the Paulaner brewery (see p. 73). Widely available in the United States, Salvator is Paulaner’s first (and best?) beer. Today the work is contracted out, but in the 1600s the monks made it for themselves. And its current recipe has changed little since a Brother Barnabas came up with it in the late 1700s.
Nowadays bock beers come in a range of strengths, colors, and flavors. One native option is Shiner Bock, a lightly-hopped, American-style lager and the signature beer of the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas (population 2,069). Bavarian-born Kosmos Spoetzl purchased the local brewery in 1909 and was its brewmaster for the next half century. Shiner Bock began as a seasonal Lenten beer, but because of demand it has been produced year-round since 1973. Today it is one of the most popular beers in Texas.
SATURDAY AFTER THE SECOND SUNDAY
OF LENT (FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT AND TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C)
One of the most beautiful and touching parables told by Our Lord is that of the Prodigal Son, related in Luke 15:11–32 and liturgically proclaimed during the Church year. Prodigal Wines in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA region of California is the playful name that owner and founder Stephen Russell gave his winery after he left the wine industry and then returned to it. Specializing in Pinot Noirs, Prodigal Wines makes an Estate Grown Quinta Santa Rosa wine and a Sta. Rita Hills appellation Cuvée Pinot Noir. Take a break from your doppelbock, have a glass of wine, and reread this passage from the Gospels.
LAETARE SUNDAY, OR FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
Most folks remember this Sunday, along with Gaudete Sunday in Advent, as the one where the priest wears “pink” vestments. Remember not to say that to the priest or he’ll never wear them again (priests are men, after all). The technical name for this beautiful liturgical hue is rose, and as a lighter shade of the penitential color of violet, it evokes the penitence of the season but with an added dimension of joy. (The introit of today’s Mass begins “Laetare Jerusalem”—“Rejoice, O Jerusalem.”) Although there are a number of historical reasons for this added dimension of joy, the one given by Pope Innocent III in 1216 is the most relevant to our concerns: “On this Sunday, which marks the middle of Lent, a measure of consoling relaxation is provided so that the faithful may not break down under the severe strain of the Lenten fast but may continue to bear the restrictions with a refreshed and easier heart.”
And Drinking with the Saints is all about refreshing and easing the heart. Console and relax tonight with a pink or rose-colored cocktail, such as a Pink Gin (see p. 362), Pink Rose (see p. 362), or Bacardi Cocktail (see p. 362). Or if you crave a glass of wine, see if you can find a bottle by the Laetitia Vineyard and Winery from California’s Santa Barbara County, since “Laetitia” means joy.
Another option, if you can find it, is a bottle of Unicum, a bitter Hungarian herbal liqueur with a golden cross on the label. Unicum, which is usually served as an aperitif or in mixed drinks, was indirectly named by the Emperor Joseph II, who, after tasting the drink for the first time, called it unicum or “unique.” We mention it here because Laetare Sunday was once the day when catechumens, in preparation for their reception into the Church on Holy Saturday, publicly recited the Apostles’ Creed, which contains the article, et in Jesum Christum, Filium ejus unicum Dominum nostrum: “And in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord.” Stop at “unicum,” however. If you try to find a liquor for all of the other words in the Creed, you’ll have wasted the rest of Lent.
PASSION SUNDAY, OR THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT
In the traditional calendar it was on this Sunday that the Church shifted her focus more explicitly to the impending commemoration of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. “Passion” nowadays denotes a strong emotion, but its original meaning is suffering. The common denominator between the two is that a strong emotion pulls you hither and thither, and thus you are experiencing or “suffering” this tug like a leaf blown by the wind.
With the Passion, Our Lord allowed Himself to experience suffering and humiliation for our sake, to be led hither and thither and eventually to the Cross. Tonight, have something made from passionflower, such as passion-fruit syrup (see pp. 193–94), so named because its features reminded Catholic missionaries to the New World of the details of Jesus’s suffering. The flower’s five sepals and five petals call to mind the ten Apostles who deserted but did not betray Christ. The corona (a double row of colored filaments) represents the Crown of Thorns, while the vine tendrils symbolize the flagella used in the scourging. The five stamens represent the Five Wounds, and the three spreading styles the nails that transfixed Christ’s hands and feet. The column of the flower, on the other hand, betokens the pillar of the scourging, the fragrance signifies the spices the women brought to the tomb, the round fruit recalls the world that Christ’s death redeemed, and the red spots on some species hearken to the drops of blood He shed.
Passion Cocktail Invented by Colleen Graham
1 oz. tequila
1½ oz. cranberry juice
½ oz. lime juice
1 oz. Grand Marnier
1 lime slice for garnish
Pour all ingredients except the Grand Marnier and lime into a shaker filled with ice and shake forty times. Strain into a cocktail glass and top with Grand Marnier. Garnish with lime.
The family-run Mulher de Capote, on the Azorean island São Miguel, makes a licor de maracuja (passion-fruit liqueur). Or have a Passion Cocktail, invented by the talented mixologist Colleen Graham.*
PALM SUNDAY
Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, when throngs of people laid palm branches and even their own clothes on the path before him and proclaimed, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.” It is customary on this day to have palm leaves blessed and kept in the home as a sacramental.
A logical choice on this day would be a liqueur made from the fruit of the palm tree, dates. Grano de Oro date liqueur is one such possibility, and so is Thibarine liqueur digestive. The recipe for Thibarine was invented by Swiss Dominican friars in the nineteenth century and produced by their monastery in the Thibar region of Tunisia, where the Romans had once made wine. (Since the close of the monastery, the liqueur has been produced by the Domaine de Thibar.) Commercially made date liqueurs, however, are difficult to find in the United States, which may explain why the internet is filled with advice on how to make your own at home.
An easier option is one that gives a nod to the impact of Palm Sunday on the naming of one of the fifty states. In Spain, Palm Sunday was called Pascua Florida because it was the custom to bless flowers as well as palms on this day. Initially the name applied only to Palm Sunday, but over time it was applied to Easter and its octave. Thus when Ponce de Leon first spotted the coast of Florida on March 27, 1513 (Easter Sunday), he had a name for the new land ready at hand.
You can combine American history with your observance of Palm Sunday by having a Florida cocktail. And the bitterness of the Campari is an apt reminder of the Passion.
Florida
1½ oz. grapefruit juice
¾ oz. Galliano
1 oz. gin
¼ oz. Campari
1 orange slice
Pour all ingredients except orange slice into a shaker filled with ice and shake forty times. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with orange slice.
Or have a Palmetto, a mixed drink most likely named after the city of Palmetto, Florida, but nicely evocative of today’s feast.
Palmetto
1¼ oz. light rum
1¼ oz. dry vermouth
2 dashes aromatic bitters (e.g., Angostura)
Pour ingredients into a mixing glass or shaker filled with ice and stir well. Strain into a cocktail glass.
MAUNDY OR HOLY THURSDAY
In commemoration of the Last Supper, the first time that wine became the Blood of the Savior, it would not be inappropriate to have a heightened appreciation for what Our Lord chose as the matter for His Blessed Sacrament. Used wisely, wine is a remarkable and elevating form of alcohol, a product not only of skill and art but of civilization. There would be no wine without keen human intelligence and extensive human collaboration, both with nature and with one’s fellow man. Some anthropologists even measure how advanced a society is by how advanced its vinicultural techniques are. And we have heard it said that the borders of the old Roman Empire are roughly coterminous with the lands that could support the production of grapes. After all, why would anyone want to conquer a territory that could not support winemaking?
With his customary mastery, St. Thomas Aquinas offers several compelling reasons why wine, along with bread, may have been chosen by the Son of God to become the Eucharist. First, since this sacrament “avails for the defense of soul and body” (1 Cor. 11:20), we may think of Christ’s Body in the species of bread offered for the health of the body, and Christ’s Blood in the species of wine offered for the health of the soul, since according to Leviticus 17:14, “The life of all flesh is in the blood” (Summa Theologiae III.74.1). Further, like bread, wine is an apt symbol of the Church and of the effect of the Eucharist on the Church as a whole, for just “as bread is composed of many grains, and wine flows from many grapes,” so too “We being many are [made] one body” (see 1 Cor. 10:17). Last but not least, “wine from the grape is more in keeping with the effect of this sacrament, which is spiritual; because it is written (Ps. 103:15): ‘That wine may cheer the heart of man.’” In other words, the Eucharist cheers the soul of man like wine cheers his heart.
LAST CALL
Tonight, sip your wine with a sober reverence for this holy night as you reflect upon the mystery of our salvation.
GOOD FRIDAY
Enough with the drinks already! Dry out on this sorrowful day and save it up for Easter.
But . . . if you must, turn to the suggestion for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost (p. 424).
HOLY SATURDAY
Holy Saturday is in some respects the ultimate Sabbath, or day of rest. We Christians sometimes forget that the Hebrew Sabbath falls on Saturday and that the absence of activity commanded by the Mosaic Law is a foreshadowing of Our Lord’s stillness in the tomb the day after His burial.
But not all Christians could keep still this day. In some places, such as Poland, boys who were fed up with forty days of eating fish would take a dead herring and ritually execute it by hanging it from a tree and then burying it with glee in a mock funeral. In other places, such as Costa Rica, Holy Saturday is a time for bromas, or practical jokes, like stealing your neighbors’ belongings and putting them in the town plaza. The association of Holy Saturday with practical jokes makes sense, since it was during the Paschal Mystery that the biggest joke of all was played on the Enemy, when Jesus Christ allowed the Devil to stir up mankind against His innocent life without realizing that it was precisely Christ’s death that would free mankind from the Devil’s bondage. Some Church Fathers even described Christ on the Cross as the bait on a hook that Satan foolishly took.
In honor of this prankster tradition, have a drink that is hard for us goys to take seriously. Mogen David is a kosher wine made in Westfield, New York. (The wine country of Westfield, New York? We’re already laughing.) The name comes from the Yiddish pronunciation of magen David, Hebrew for the “shield of David,” that is, the Star of David. But Mogen David is best known for being cheap, sweet, and the cultural butt of much comedy. The proverbial choice of winos, it is the subject of Larry Gatlin’s country-western song “Midnight Choir,” in which the singer claims that if they don’t have Mogen David in Heaven, no one will want to go.
LAST CALL
At a gathering of friends who are unaware of the April Fool’s dimensions of today, serve them Mogen David. Solemnly extol the wine as a metaphor for grace, a sign of solidarity with the poor, and an affirmation of the Jewish heritage of Our Lord and His Davidic kingship. Then, watch with impish delight as they try to enjoy it.
Or, if you are going the more somber route and honoring Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, try any of our recommendations for mezcal (see pp. 349–50). Happily, you don’t need to pay tribute to Our Lady’s solitude by being alone yourself.
For a straight-faced alternative, lift another page from Hispanic life and drink to Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, or Our Lady of Solitude. This touching devotion commemorates the loneliness of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Holy Saturday (see pp. 349–50).
EASTER SUNDAY, OR THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
When we here at Drinking with the Saints think of Easter, we think of the great joy over the great news that the world awoke one morning to find a tomb empty and the stranglehold of the Enemy broken. And when we think of how to celebrate this great joy and this great news, we think of a solemn high liturgy and a grand fête. We can’t help you with the liturgy, but we have plenty of advice about the drinking part of the agape meal afterwards.
Before Supper
For an aperitif prior to your Easter dinner, it’s time to break out the champagne or your finest sparkling wine, for nothing gladdens the heart like the sound of champagne bottles popping. Besides, the bubbles rising from the depths of the glass are a fitting reminder of Christ’s rising from the sepulcher.
If you can afford it, have a bottle of Dom Pérignon, the champagne named after the Benedictine monk Pierre Pérignon (1638–1715), cellarer of the Abbey of Hautvillers in France who pioneered the méthode champenoise that creates sparkling wines. Pérignon figured out that if you used thicker bottles and reinforced corks, the bottles will not explode when secondary fermentation occurs and releases countless bubbles that put pressure on the bottle. He also learned how to increase the sugar content of the grapes in order to induce secondary fermentation. According to one legend, when he sampled his first successful sparkling wine, he called out, “Brothers, come quickly: I am drinking stars!” Pérignon was also a pioneer of other wine-making techniques, such as blending different grapes in order to overcome their defects and producing clear white wine from dark grapes.
If you can’t afford a bottle of Dom Pérignon, any champagne will do. (Technically, only sparkling wines from the Champagne region of France are properly called champagnes.) Or use any sparkling wine—personally, we’re rather fond of Prosecco (see pp. 238–39).
You can also mix your sparkling wine into a champagne cocktail, especially if your Lenten almsgiving has left your slush fund a little short and you must settle for a bargain-basement bottle. Of special note is the classic mimosa (see p. 31). To our mind, its golden hue cries out the sunrise glory of the Resurrection. Or how about a minty Arise My Love (see p. 222) in honor of the day on which Our Lord arose?
During the Meal
Choose a wine to pair well with your dinner. For ham, look for a dry rosé, a white wine with fruity notes (to complement the ham the way pineapple does), a sweet white like a Riesling or Gewürztraminer to balance out the meat’s saltiness, or a bold fruity red like a Zinfadel to balance out the sweetness of the glaze. For lamb, look for a red wine that is fruity and acidic. Cabernet Sauvignon usually tops the list, but Malbec, Merlot, or any Burgundy are also contenders.
You may even get lucky with a label that is nominally linked to the feast. Paschal Winery in Talent, Oregon, may have been named after its owners, Roy and Jill Paschal, but the name is still apt.
And for beer-drinkers, see if you can find a Gouden Carolus Easter Ale from the Het Anker brewery in Belgium. This rich, golden ale is brewed once a year specifically for an Easter dinner pairing.
After Dinner
For a postprandial drink, have some Vin Santo, or “Holy Wine,” a dessert wine that may be so named because it is traditionally bottled during Easter Week (see p. 364). If you cannot find a bottle, turn instead to a mighty tasty concoction called an Easter Bunny. Consumed in the right religious spirit, the cocktail is a reminder that the figure of the Easter Bunny hearkens to the days when the Church prudently coopted pagan symbols of springtime and rebirth to betoken the new life of the Resurrection. Option number three is a Sunrise in honor of Our Risen Lord, the Dawn from on high. Since it is a flaming drink, it also commemorates another symbol of Christ resurrected, the Paschal candle.
Easter Bunny From drinksmixer.com
1½ oz. dark crème de cacao
½ oz. vodka
1 tsp. chocolate syrup
1 tsp. cherry brandy (Kirschwasser)
Pour crème de cacao and vodka into a shaker filled with ice and shake forty times. Strain into an old fashioned glass filled with ice. Float cherry brandy on top and drizzle with chocolate syrup.
Sunrise (Flaming)
½ oz. lime juice
½ tsp. sugar
1½ oz. warmed cognac
Mix lime juice and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Warm cognac, but do not make it too hot. Build ingredients in a sherry glass and set alight.
LAST CALL
Incorporate a traditional Easter greeting into your Paschal toast. In the Latin West, one of the faithful would say Surrexit Dominus vere (“Christ is truly risen!”), to which the other would say Deo gratias (“Thanks be to God!”). In the Christian East, one says, “Christ is risen!” (Christos anesti!) to which the response is “Indeed He is risen!” (Alithos anesti!)
ASCENSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
It was once a custom in Europe to eat fowl on the great feast of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ, forty days after His Resurrection, “because Christ ‘flew’ to Heaven.” Bakers in Germany followed this precedent by making pastries for the Ascension in the shape of various birds.
We’d like to follow the precedent too, in our own special way. Tonight, have a drink associated with a bird. It could be a cider like Woodpecker, a lager liked Golden Eagle, or a wine like Rex Goliath (named after a rooster). Or why not turn to American popular culture of yesteryear and have a bottle of Cold Duck? In the 1970s it was one of the best-selling sparkling wines in the United States, with two million cases of E&J Gallo’s André Sweet Sparkling Red Cold Duck sold every year. Cold Duck can be traced to a Bavarian custom of mixing cold sparkling Burgundy with already-opened bottles of champagne. The practice, which was called cold end (kalte Ende), came to be known as cold duck (kalte Ente).
In the realm of cocktails, you can have something made with Greygoose vodka, Famous Grouse scotch, or Wild Turkey bourbon. Or have a cocktail with a volucrine name, such as a White Dove (see p. 31) or Raven (see p. 14). Better yet, try a Phoenix Bird, the legend of which we hereby commandeer from the hoary volumes of mythology and use as a symbol of Our Risen Lord flying out of the ash heap of death up to the right hand of the Father. (Plus, it’s a good cocktail.)
Carbonated drinks are also an appropriate choice, given all of those jubilantly ascending bubbles. On Easter Sunday we recommended sparkling wines and champagne cocktails. Today, let’s go with spritzers, such as a Spritz Italiano (see p. 242), or a spritzer made with Chambord (see the two recipes below). Chambord is a liqueur with a regal Catholic pedigree that can be used to honor Our triumphant King and Lord (see p. 227).
LAST CALL
The Church traditionally uses Psalm 46:6 on this feast day, and you can too. One person says, “God is ascended with jubilee, alleluia!” and another replies, “And the Lord with the sound of the trumpet, alleluia!”
Phoenix Bird
1 oz. bourbon
½ oz. crème de banana
½ oz. triple sec
1 oz. cream
Pour all ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and shake forty times. Strain into a cocktail glass.
Chambord Spritzer From Gourmet magazine
1 oz. Chambord
1½ oz. white wine (or more, if you find the Chambord too dominant)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
club soda, chilled
1 lemon twist
In a highball glass half-filled with ice, build the Chambord, wine, and lemon juice. Top with club soda. Garnish with lemon.
Chambord Royale Spritzer
1½ oz. Chambord
1 splash champagne
club soda, chilled
In a wine glass, build Chambord and champagne and top with club soda.
* Her recipes and articles can be found at cocktails.about.com.