This Cocktail Inspired by Chinese Medicine Is Infused With Pain-Relieving Herbs

Name: The Eccedentesiast
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1 person
Ingredients: 1 oz Rye Infusion ((see recipe below)); 1 oz Giffard Abricot; 1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice; 90 g Jujube ((split, not seeded)); 50 g Chinese Licorice Root ((slices)); 30 g Poppy Leaf; 45 g St John’s Wort; 30 g Devil’s Claw ((cut and sifted)); 30 g Hong Hua; 2 liters rye whiskey

Good Food

by Abigail Libers, May 24, 2018

Photo: Tiger Fork

Total Time

5 minutes

Is it possible to reap the health benefits of herbs...from a cocktail? While not all experts would agree, Ian Fletcher, beverage director at Tiger Fork in Washington, D.C., argues that it is. “Alcohol, especially Chartreuse, Benedictine, and Amaro, has been used as a vessel for medicine for ages,” he says.

At Tiger Fork, Fletcher works with a Chinese medicine specialist to dream up concoctions that include ingredients purporting to soothe anxiety, boost your immune system, and more. His latest creation, the Eccedentesiast (which means "one who smiles to hide suffering"), uses pain-relieving herbs like hong hua (aka, safflower, which promotes blood circulation), Chinese licorice (to detoxify), poppy leaf and devil’s claw (for pain relief), and St. John’s wort (to fight inflammation and depression).

These herbs get infused into whiskey and are then combined with Giffard Abricot Du Roussillon, club soda, and lemon. The result: What Fletcher calls an “herbal aspirin” that’s “light and refreshing but still in our wheelhouse of weird and funky.” The jury’s out on whether or not it’ll actually cure a headache (and if you drink too many, it'll surely *cause* one) but either way, it’s the perfect sip for spring and summer.

Tiger Fork, 922 N Street (Rear) NW, Blagden Alley, Washington DC 20001 Ph: 202-733-1152

The Eccedentesiast

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Prep Time

5 minutes
Cook Time
Servings

person

Ingredients

For The Eccedentesiast

1 oz Rye Infusion (see recipe below)
1 oz Giffard Abricot
1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice

For the rye infusion (makes 32 servings)

90 g Jujube (split, not seeded)
50 g Chinese Licorice Root (slices)
30 g Poppy Leaf
45 g St John’s Wort
30 g Devil’s Claw (cut and sifted)
30 g Hong Hua
2 liters rye whiskey

Instructions

Add all herbs to a two liter mason jar. Fill with the rye whiskey. Store at room temperature for at least two days and at most, seven days.
Strain the herbs out of the whiskey, making sure all solids are removed. Rye infusion can be stored at room temperature indefinitely.
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine Rye infusion, Giffard Abricot, and lemon juice. Shake.
Pour over ice into a twelve ounce glass (such as a high ball glass). Top off with soda water and garnish with a lemon wedge.

Recipe Notes

For more healthy cocktail ideas, check out this surprising twist on a bloody Mary and this low-sugar floral cocktail.