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Cocktail History
The Mystical One is a modern cocktail that was created by Natasha David at Nitecap in New York City, New York. Despite its cryptic name, the recipe is essentially a Whiskey Sour riff that uses the classic’s whiskey, lemon, sugar syrup, and egg white template, but this version combines sage’s woodsy flavors with a slight cinnamon spice. David’s original specifications called for lime juice instead of lemon, but the recipe below uses the sweeter citrus to make it more palatable.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Bourbon: This is a type of whiskey made in the United States with at least 51% corn, grains, malted barley, and water. I used Buffalo Trace Distillery Benchmark Bourbon.
Cinnamon Syrup: This is a sweetener made with cinnamon sticks, white sugar, gum arabic powder, saline solution, and water. I made mine using this sous vide recipe.
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. I used freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Egg White: This is the clear liquid in an egg. I used fresh egg whites.
Sage Leaves: This an evergreen herb. I used fresh sage leaves.
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.
Muddler: This is used to muddle ingredients. I used the HQY Stainless Steel Cocktail Muddler.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. I used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. I used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
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.
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Tasting Notes
This cocktail has the following flavor profile:
• Appearance: Brown-ish yellow color
• Aroma: Sage and whiskey spices
• Taste: Bourbon flavor with tart citrus and a cinnamon zing
• Finish: Herbs and more spices
Kendall’s Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Kendall’s Take: “The original specifications for this cocktail didn’t taste quite right; the lime was much too sour and overpowered the other ingredients, in my opinion. Swapping out the lime for lemon did the trick though. It made it much more balanced and helped the sage to shine, which I already love in cocktails. Egg white aside, I would definitely drink The Mystical One again.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Winter Drinks: 70 Essential Cold-Weather Cocktails by the editors of PUNCH.
This post contains affiliate links, meaning we make a small commission each time you purchase a product using our links. Product images sourced from Amazon Product Advertising API. Amazon affiliate links last updated on 2025-01-15.
The Mystical One
The Mystical One is a modern cocktail that was created by Natasha David at Nitecap in New York City, New York. Despite its cryptic name, the recipe is essentially a Whiskey Sour riff that uses the classic's whiskey, lemon, sugar syrup, and egg white template, but this version combines sage’s woodsy flavors with a slight cinnamon spice. David's original specifications called for lime juice instead of lemon, but the recipe below uses the sweeter citrus to make it more palatable.
Ingredients
Method
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Add cinnamon syrup and three sage leaves to a shaker.
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Muddle gently for 5-7 seconds.
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Add bourbon, lemon juice, egg white, and cubed ice to shaker.
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Shake for 10-20 seconds.
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Remove ice from shaker.
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Dry shake for 5-10 more seconds to emulsify egg.
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Strain into a cocktail glass.
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Garnish with remaining sage leaf.
