Hale-Bopp Cocktail

This cocktail is named after its creator and today’s guest. It uses some of her favorite ingredients and also happens to have a lovely flavor profile for the winter season.

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Herro! I’m Haley from…no associated blog. I’m currently a PhD Candidate in Richmond, VA but doing a blog post is new to me!! I’ve been friends with Erin (The Spiffy Cookie?) for almost 7 years now. It’s been a blast hearing about all her food and drink ideas over the years and since I’ve been getting into mixology, she thought it would be fun if I did a featured drink every now and then. Who would say no?!

Seeing as this is the first cocktail I’m sharing semi-professionally, I wanted to use signature “Haley” ingredients. All of my friends that have been going through this cocktail hobby with me would immediately recognize this drink as mine. It also doesn’t hurt that these ingredients are great for a fall/winter cocktail.

For the spirit I went with Paul Masson Brandy VSOP. I have never thought much of Brandy before but since trying it this year and playing with it, I can say it is truly lovely to drink. My spirit of choice for many, many, years has been bourbon. While I didn’t use bourbon here, a tamer, sweeter bourbon could substitute for the Brandy pretty well. 

I don’t know what happened this year but dear god ROSEMARY. I get teased up and down, but I am in love with Rosemary simple syrup and I don’t care who knows it. It’s super easy to make, just boil a 1:1 ratio of granulated sugar and water, pull off heat and toss in some rosemary sprigs. Steep until cooled and strain into a bottle or jar for refrigerated keeping.

And lastly, Drambuie. For those of you who follow The Spiffy Cookie, I convinced her to buy and use it in her Malarkey Cocktail. MUWAHAHAHHA. If you don’t know about it, let me change your life. Drambuie is a Scotch whiskey liqueur infused with heather honey, herbs, and spices. It smells great, it tastes great, it looks great…get yourself some.

As this drink is quintessential me, I named it as an homage to a childhood nickname, Hale-Bopp. Hale-Bopp was discovered in 1995 and is considered one of the brightest comets. It was also observed by the naked eye in 1997 for record-holding length of 18 months!! And lastly, watch out for cats in the making of this drink.

Four years ago: Homemade Colombian Patacones

Six years ago: Easy Italian Rainbow Cookie Cake

Seven years ago: White Hot Chocolate Pods

Nine years ago: Cheddar Chili Cornbread Pasta Bake

HALE-BOPP COCKTAIL

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Yield: 1 serving Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 2 oz. Brandy
• 1 oz. Drambuie
• 3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. rosemary simple syrup
• 1 dash orange bitters

Directions

1. Chill coupe glass while preparing.
2. Combine all in shaker and fill 3/4 with ice. Shake for ~30sec.
3. Strain into chilled coupe glass.
4. Garnish with lemon peel and/or rosemary if you’re feeling fancy.