A surreal cocktail recipe devised by Salvador Dalí
When he wasn’t melting clocks or balancing lobsters on telephones, the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí liked to unwind with his pals. As an esteemed artist, his friends were predominantly the refined artsy type, and so a cold lager or medium Pinot Grigio would seldom cut the mustard. As his art betrays, Dalí was a man of colour, extravagance and eccentricity. We think his personality is summed up rather well in this Casanova Cocktail.
Although he would later use lobsters as a colourful art subject, Dalí grew up intent on becoming “a matronly cook”. Proud of his Spanish heritage, the artist’s passion for cultural cuisine was only just outweighed by his artistic endeavours. Quite often, however, he saw the two passions as interchangeable.
“Cooking is very close to painting. When I’m busy making a dish, I add a little of this and a little of that. It’s like mixing paints,” Dalí once noted. It is no surprise that the Spanish creative liked to create his own recipes in the kitchen, whether culinary or in the fine art of mixology.
In his artistic work, Dalí often alluded to sex in the context of his Catholic upbringing. “The sensual intelligence housed in the tabernacle of my palate beckons me to pay the greatest attention to food,” he once noted. The surrealist’s crucially progressive work seemed to reflect a similar outlook in all areas of life, including food and drink.
So, what would this eccentric artist’s ideal cocktail taste like? Well, thankfully, we have the answer to that question. In 1973, Dalí published his own cookbook, Les Diners de Gala. It featured 136 recipes compiled by the painter and his wife, Gala. Divided into 12 chapters, it included sections on ‘Prime Lilliputian Malaises’ (meat), ‘Deoxyribonucleic Atavism’ (vegetables) and more.
Among the many weird and wonderful recipes was one for Dalí’s Casanova Cocktail. As detailed below, the heady concoction involves functional measures of Campari and brandy with notes of spice and orange to take the edge off. Enjoy responsibly!
Salvador Dalí’s Casanova Cocktail:
- The juice of 1 orange
- 1 tablespoon bitters (Campari)
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 4 tablespoons brandy
- 2 tablespoons old brandy (Vielle Cure)
- 1 pinch Cayenne pepper
Notes from Salvador Dalí:
“This is quite appropriate when circumstances such as exhaustion, overwork or simply excess of sobriety are calling for a pick-me-up.
Here is a well-tested recipe to fit the bill.
Let us stress another advantage of this particular pep-up concoction is that one doesn’t have to make the sour face that usually accompanies the absorption of a remedy.
At the bottom of a glass, combine pepper and ginger. Pour the bitters on top, then brandy and ‘Vielle Cure’. Refrigerate or even put in the freezer.
Thirty minutes later, remove from the freezer and stir the juice of the orange into the chilled glass.
Drink… and wait for the effect.
It is rather speedy.”
