The Impatient Chef Cocktail Recipe: The Scuzzy Navel

Cocktail Recipe: The Scuzzy Navel

One evening a few years ago, I turned a Tragedy into a Comedy (as in greek theater) while  mixing a cocktail.  I started making a gin & tonic, which was becoming a favorite evening sip due to having found a couple decent tonic waters.  In the days when Schweppes and Canada Dry were the only ones around, the venerable G&T was a ho hum.  I use either Fever Tree (not named after the 1960’s San Francisco one-hit wonder), and Q (which you have to pronounce as though you are Captain Jean Luc Picard calling out a pesky omnipotent alien on Star Trek: The Next Generation).  The Tragedy occurred when I realized that I had no tonic water after having added the lime juice to 2 shots of Aria Gin.  

Notes on Tragedy: 

Webster’s Unabridged New Twentieth Century Dictionary (1967 Edition) defines Tragedy as “A serious play having an unhappy ending brought about by characters or central character impelled, in ancient drama,  by fate or, more recently, by moral weakness, psychological maladjustment, or social pressure.”  Now, there is one aspect of tragedy that Webster’s left out.  The tragic figure, be it Oedipus, King Lear, or any one of a king named Henry, is often hoisted by his own petard.  In other words, he, and sometimes she, is the author of his undoing due to a character flaw.  My tragic flaws are that I am impatient, and forgetful.

So, not feeling like a Lear, Henry, or (egad) Oedipus, and necessity being the brother of invention, I set off to salvage my gin.  This is where Tragedy turned to Comedy.  A short perusal of the medicine closet led me to concoct the following:

3/4 oz fresh squeezed lime juice,

2 oz gin (Portland Dry style or a juniper forward gin),
1/2 oz Cointreau,
2 dashes Peychaud's Bitters,
2 dashes Benedictine,
1/2 oz white rum (I used Cannon Beach Distillery's rum),
Shake with ice.  Serve in a chilled cocktail glass.

Notes on Gin:

Seek out local spirits if you have a craft distillery scene in your area.  In Oregon, we are blessed with some really outstanding distilleries: New Seal, Ransom, Eastside Distilling, Clear Creek, McMenamin's, and Martin Ryan to name a few.

The Peychaud’s Bitters turned this drink pink.  Supposedly, men don’t like pink cocktails.  Personally, I don’t care, but I needed a name that would overcome the pinkness, and yet seem familiar.

Tragedy became Comedy, and my new drink became The Scuzzy Navel.  The rest is history.

Notes on Comedy:  

The Oxford English Dictionary defines Comedy as “A play characterized by its humorous or satirical tone and its depiction of amusing people or incidents, in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity.”  Perhaps Carol Burnett said it best: “Comedy is tragedy plus time.”

Time, of course, triumphs over everything, so enjoy the moment.  Have a cocktail.  

A list of good gins for this drink:

Aria Gin

Joe Penney’s Gin by McMenamin’s Edgefield

Big Gin

New Deal Gin 33 (my top choice)

The mocktail version for those who don't drink:

Juice of 1 lime
5 dashes Peychaud's Bitters
3 dashes orange bitters
1 oz simple syrup (or to taste).
Shake with ice. Add 3 oz tonic water, and swirl briefly.  Serve in a chilled cocktail glass.

Cheers! 

The Impatient Chef.