Impromptu: Wabe Gimble

So the day before National Hot Toddy Day I made french toast. Don't be surprised, it was a Saturday and I often use French toast to try out different flavor combinations in the toppings. ("Ohhhh.." you're now saying) And this one time I used some Bual madeira because I was out of milk plus some spices in the batter, then topped it with a schmear of guava jelly. It was a little on the acidic side but still quite tasty. So immediately after I threw together a cocktail based on the flavors. Because I didn't know the day after was National Hot Toddy Day (after reading through my blog feed that morning) and because it was still before noon, I made a toddy.

It was nommy, like fruitcake. Turns out it's a simplified toddified West Indies Punch (and when I saw this use of guava last year, I thought it utter brillig). And I had a heckuva time coming up with a name.

@dagreb Tropical Jabbertoddy?
— K. Muse (@MuseOfDoom) January 13, 2015

Perhaps not a full-on Jabbertoddy (that sounds brutal), nor even a Snarktoddy. It needed to be soft, flowing, travelling.

Wabe Gimble

5 oz chai green tea

2 oz bual madeira

1/2 T guava jelly

Lemon twist

In your serving mug, brew a hearty 5 oz of chai green tea (1 teabag). Brew it dense and spicy.

As you're brewing that, add the guava jelly and a small splash of boiling water to a mixing vessel and stir to dissolve.

Add the madeira to the guava syrup and blend.

When the tea reaches desired strength, remove and wring out teabag and add in madeira mix with a quick stir.

Garnish with lemon twist.

Bright raisiny fruitcake, lemon and earthy guava, sweet but drying. A pinch of mace would be over the top, but just-so. Nor would a shot of cognac.


Why I've taken so long to post this since National Hot Toddy Day was nigh on 3 weeks ago? Recipe bunnies. Much like plot bunnies but with the ability to shut down your liver in their multitudes (note: my liver has not shut down). But the tricky thing is managing them into a blog posting scheme. Do I include the other little bunny related to this recipe in this post or do I shift it over to this more relevant ingredient-themed post? It's been driving me mad, I tell you.

Ah! But here's the post anyway! And it's Feu de Vie's 100th post! Oh frabjuous day! Callooh, callay! (finally! Got that one out of the way) After the Rhythm of the Night naming debacle of last month I promise you a year of minimally-prepositioned cocktails (Jane of the Jungle notwithstanding), starting with this one -- not "Gimble in the Wabe" but "Wabe Gimble". Short, sweet, incomprehensible to everyone except those who can both get the reference and twist it around again. You're going to be seeing a lot of that this year on the blog, so stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled because the next month or two will be quasi-incestuous with reference and interminglings. What fun, yes?