Euphoric Stage

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Cocktail History

The Euphoric Stage is a modern cocktail that was created by Alex Sukopp, former bartender of Sips From Scripts, for a cocktail challenge. It was inspired by the music video for “Tonight Tonight” by Celeste, which aims to capture the euphoric feeling of being in a new relationship. The short film is often dark and moody with lots of red and black and the occasional bizarre goings-on, so it uses an equally unique list of ingredients. To start, elderberry shrub was chosen for its distinct bittersweet taste and dark color as well as cherry liqueur as a nod to the cherry red themes throughout. It then pairs both with gin, lemon, hibiscus, lavender, oak, and ginger.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Seltzer Water: This is a carbonated water that is made by injecting plain water with carbon dioxide. I used Polar Original Seltzer Water.

London Dry Gin: This is a type of gin made by redistilling a neutral spirit with juniper berries and other botanicals without added sweeteners to develop a crisp, dry flavor.

Elderberry Shrub: This is a type of drinking vinegar made with elderberries, apple cider vinegar, and white sugar, which are fermented or steeped and infused to develop a deeply tart, acidic syrup.

Cherry Liqueur: This is a liqueur made with cherries, distilled alcohol, water, and sugar, which are blended and infused to develop a rich, fruity flavor.

Lemon Juice: This is the liquid extracted from the flesh of ripe lemons that has a sweet, tangy flavor and light yellow color.

Hibiscus, Lavender, & Oak Bitters: This is a concentrated flavoring made with dried hibiscus blossoms, lavender, oak bark, herbs, spices, botanicals, and distilled alcohol, which are macerated or steeped to develop a floral, slightly bitter flavor.

Ginger Bitters: This is a concentrated flavoring made with ginger root, herbs, spices, botanicals, and distilled alcohol, which are macerated or steeped to develop a spicy, slightly bitter flavor.

Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. I used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Bar Spoon: This is used to stir ingredients. I used the Barfly Stainless Steel Teardrop Bar Spoon.

Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. I used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.

Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. I used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.

Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Red-ish brown color with an ombré effect

• Aroma: Faint elderberry and juniper

• Taste: Sweet cherry and botanical gin flavor that fades into unique vinegary and slightly bitter shrub notes

• Finish: Touch of ginger, oak, and berry

Kendall’s Take: “If you’re not used to the vinegary taste of shrubs, they can be tough to sip at first, but I honestly can’t imagine a more palatable way to drink an elderberry shrub than this cocktail. And it comes with a cool background to boot! This recipe definitely captures the dark moodiness of Celeste’s video for ‘Tonight Tonight,’ and I wanted its photo to nod to it as well, hence the choice of background. The Euphoric Stage is worth a try if you’re a fan of the singer or elderberry’s deep flavor.”

Recipe