Saturday, 3 August 2013

The Answer to Life, the Universe and EVERYTHING is...

...me! Lol! What, you were expecting a real answer? Whoops, sorry! No. Just plain old me. Today I'm hitting that magical number Douglas Adams proposed as the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything.


I feel I should be drinking a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster to celebrate. According to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the mixing instructions are:

  • Take the juice from one bottle of Ol' Janx Spirit.
  • Pour into it one measure of water from the seas of Santraginus V — Oh, that Santraginean seawater! Oh, those Santraginean fish!
  • Allow three cubes of Arcturan Mega-gin to melt into the mixture (it must be properly iced or the benzine is lost).
  • Allow four litres of Fallian marsh gas to bubble through it, in memory of all those happy hikers who have died of pleasure in the Marshes of Fallia.
  • Over the back of a silver spoon float a measure of Qualactin Hypermint extract, redolent of all the heady odours of the dark Qualactin Zones, subtle, sweet and mystic.
  • Drop in the tooth of an Algolian Suntiger. Watch it dissolve, spreading the fires of the Algolian Suns deep into the heart of the drink.
  • Sprinkle Zamphuor.
  • Add an olive.
  • Drink... but... very carefully... 
Alcohol and the Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters - the HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy version



So, to celebrate my birthday I'm going to post a couple of theoretical recipes for Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters. If you find either of these really do feel like "having your brains smashed in by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick", please ask your next of kin to let me know. Cheers!

There are loads of recipes on the internet, since no 'official' version exists. This one does differ from some of the more mundane cocktails of the same name in the fact that it is actually served in an Ottawa nightclub - Zaphod Beeblebrox - and tastes fantastic despite not being quite as potent as the recipes involving Everclear, Bacardi 151 and all that lark. It also glows under ultra-violet lighting, giving that oh-so-crazy spaceage feel.

One serving

Shake the orange juice, the Jack and the peach schnapps in a shaker 3/4 full with ice cubes. When it's chilled, strain into the highball glass and drizzle some of the blue Curacao liqueur over the top of it. Add a citrus twist (and, bizarrely, an olive if you're a DNA purist), sit back and be prepared to have your brain smashed out by gold bricks, lemons and allsorts.

And this one. I went for one as different for the first as I could find.

One serving

1 tbsp vodka
1 tbsp light rum
1 tbsp gin
1 tbsp tequila
1 tbsp creme de menthe
1 tbsp Galliano® herbal liqueur
1 slice lemon

Combine the gin, rum, vodka, tequila, creme de menthe, Galliano and ice in the container of a blender. Cover, and blend until slushy. Pour into a glass and garnish with a slice of lemon.

Enjoy!

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