Thanks for the Covid Cocktails, Reviewer #1
Peer reviewers sometimes offer truly brilliant insights
We’ve all heard stories about what an exasperating pain in the neck scientific peer review can be, but I almost always look back on the process as a useful ordeal. Even in cases where I feel like a reviewer simply failed to understand the science, I grudgingly tell myself the reviewer was helping me find places where I should have done a better job of explaining my work.
The peer reviews for my recent paper discussing evidence for the surprising idea that drinking mint tea might fight Covid didn’t require these types of mental gymnastics. The reviewers simply provided me with deeply insightful constructive criticism that helped me improve the manuscript. The depth of Reviewer #2’s knowledge of the scientific literature was humbling. My guess is that Reviewer #1 now holds the strange distinction of being the first scientist in human history to recognize that a scientific manuscript could be improved by the addition of some cocktail recipes. You’ll have to read the paper to find out why it’s scientifically plausible to imagine that medieval monks might actually have been onto something with their botanical elixirs of long life.
For the past few decades, I’ve been a monomaniacal beer geek — meaning prior to writing the mint-versus-Covid paper my experience with cocktails was essentially nil. So, in the name of science, my husband and I embarked on an entertaining series of weekend missions to discover Lamiaceae-infused spirits available from craft distilleries in the Washington, DC area. Our preliminary findings are outlined below.
In summary: cheers, anonymous peer reviewers! You rock! It’s a shame we scientists don’t say so more often.
Xenocide
1 oz perilla syrup*
1/2 oz absinthe (Mt Defiance)
1–1/2 oz Torino-style vermouth (Vincenzi)
1/3 oz lime juice
Little Doctor
1 oz Chartreuse**
1/4 oz absinthe (Tenth Ward)
1 oz amaro (Don Fernet)
Sarhopper
1 oz mint syrup*
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves muddled in syrup
2 oz heavy cream
1–1/2 oz mint vodka (Dragon)
1/2 oz Branca Menta
Ender
1 oz rosemary cordial (McClintock)
1/2 oz Bénédictine
3 oz basil-infused cider or mead (Red Shedman, Charm City)
Things My Husband Hates
2 oz lavender liqueur (Butterfly)
2 oz yerba mate energy drink (Guayakí)
dash herbal bitters (Embitterment Lavender)
God’s Gallipoli
1/2 oz maple syrup (CMFS Ranch)
3 fresh sage leaves muddled in syrup
1–1/2 oz smoked whiskey (Mt Defiance)
2 oz berry-infused cider or mead (Distillery Lane Aronia, Clear Skies Blackcurrant)
bourbon-soaked black chokeberries (Powbab)
Eye for an Eye
2 oz spiced rum (Thrasher’s Green)
1 oz holy basil syrup*
1/4 tsp herbal bitters (Cocktail Punk Alpino)
thyme sprig
Covfashioned
2 oz bourbon (Lost Ark)
1/2 oz Strega**
1/4 tsp herbal bitters (Artemisia Farm Junio Elder)
orange peel
cocktail cherry
*Herb syrups
•Boil 1/2 cup sugar with 1/2 cup water
•Add ~1/2 oz dried herb leaves
•Perilla (also known as shiso) is a mint-family herb that inhibits SARS-CoV-2. It gives beautiful red-plum colors in acidic cocktails
•Bohe mint (Mentha haplocalyx) fights Covid — at least in hamsters, anyway. Bohe makes a delightfully complex cocktail syrup. Harts of America Peppermint also makes a great syrup
•Holy basils are mint-family herbs that offer a wonderful range of clove and tutti-frutti flavors
•Steep herb leaves one hour at room temperature or overnight in the fridge
•Press leaves using a French press or fine mesh strainer
Re-extract the spent leaves with hot water and enjoy the second extract as a good strong cup of potentially Covid-fighting hot tea
**Update: Oh no! Chartreuse shortage!
The monks are holding out on us. Fortunately, Galliano is a reasonable substitute. I hope it’s not a sin to say I might like Galliano a bit better than Chartreuse.
Call to action: can any American distilleries please make a good liqueur in this category? Without naming any names, there’s an example from the west coast and it’s not good. It isn’t just my opinion — in my local liquor store there were a ton of un-purchased bottles of the failed American knock-off right next to the empty shelf space where the store clerk told me the Chartreuse and Strega had been gone for months. Market opportunity! Don’t forget the beautiful perilla, please.
I originally posted this article on Medium.
Where do I find the beer vaccine recipe.