L'Heure Verte — A Sparkling Aperitif inspired by "Portrait of an Unseen Woman"
There's a moment in Portrait of an Unseen Woman by Roberta Harold that lingers long after the chapter ends. In Chapter 29, Annie sits with Carlotta, Bertrand, Julia, and Tallie in the Cabaret du Chat Noir in Montmartre, surrounded by shadow and romance. Silhouettes flash on a screen depicting Les Métamorphoses d'Ovide, and something in Annie begins to shift as she confronts the grief love left her with. Highlighted on my page is this:
What loving pair could not wish for an eternity? Annie's throat closed, her eyes brimming at the thought of what had been taken from her and never found again. But it was George she saw, not Rob, the dark curls, the lean cheek, beloved cousin, husband that should have been, the one she would have chosen to share whatever senseless or thoughtless eternity might succeed their mortal existence. She resolved that when her time was over she would join him in Lenox, in the burying yard of the Church on the Hill. Perhaps his dust and hers would eventually mingle.
If you've lived a little life, you're no stranger to heartbreak and yearning. The ache that takes root in your heart and stays there, a testament of how truthfully you've loved. It's a great burden, but an even greater privilege.
So this drink is for the lovers. When light turns to shadow and leaves you wondering about the almosts and what-should've-beens, I hope this drink gives you enough sweetness so you can forget life's bitterness.
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L'Heurte Verte
Ingredients:
- 0.5 oz absinthe
- 0.5 oz elderflower liqueur
- 4 oz chilled prosecco
- A sprig of thyme
Insturctions:
- Pour absinthe and elderflower into a chilled coupe of flute.
- Top slowly with prosecco.
- Clap a thyme sprig to release its oils and garnish.
- Sip and Serve!