Having survived the terror of All Hallow’s Eve once again, All Saint’s Day is now upon us. That’s never really meant much to me, beyond being time to take down the skeletons and turning the jack o’lanterns around to just be pumpkins as we pass from the Halloween season on our way to turkey day. I miss the spookiness already. Frankly, I am better equipped for ghost stories by the campfire than this general celebration of Autumn which feels more like Thanksgiving’s waiting room than an actual season. Still, the tide rises and the tide falls and we are all called to the next step on this one way trip into the future, so eyes forward. Since we have spent the last week exploring the hellish side of cocktails, so today we are going for a little taste of heaven, if you will join me now as we stand and make the Angel’s Tit.

Yep, I said it, or, more accurately, I said tit. I know we don’t usually think of angels as being fully endowed, but if Michelangelo is to believed, angel breasts are a thing, or, more accurately, two things. This one comes from a whole class of drink’s claiming to be an Angel’s something or the other (Blush, Kiss, Dream etc.), usually made with heavy cream and some sweet liqueur, layered for a lovely clouldlike presentation. This particular cocktail, which first appeared in Volume II of Charles Baker’s 1939 “The Gentleman’s Companion” is sometimes also referred to as an Angels’s Tip in more prudish circles. It actually gets it’s name from its layered presentation with pink liquor sitting at the bottom of a breast shaped glass topped with a 2:1 measure of cream to give the appearance of an inverted, ummm, cocktail. Today we are making a modernized version created by Mikki Kristola from L.A.’s The Streamliner, which, sadly closed during Covid. It adds some more complex ingredients and tosses out the layered build for a shaken cocktail more reminiscent of a classic dessert drink like the Brandy Alexander or Grasshopper.

Grab your tins and pop in 3/4 of an ounce each of Luxardo Maraschino liqueur and heavy cream. To that add a bar spoon each of Fernet-Branca and Cherry Heering, before adding some artisanal ice and giving it a good shake to the beat of Elvis’ “Devil in Disguise“. When well mixed, slowly double strain into a chilled Nick & Nora refilled with approximately a nipple worth of juice from a jar of Luxardo Maraschino Cherries, before garnishing with one of those cherries on a pick.

“Of course, it has a nice creamy sweetness, that I love” he said, avoiding the obvious innuendo, “but, that fernet brings a complexity and bitter hint to the finish.” he continued. Naturally, the Heering really leans into the tart cherriness that sells this one. I put the juice for the luxardo cherry in the bottom for the visual, but if you give this one a light stir, that rich, deep cherry sweetness really adds something to the drink, or makes a truly wonderful final sip. All in all this one was way better than I expected or at least I think it was, my wife took it for a sip and I never got it back.

This is definitely a dessert drink and should be judged as such. Sure, I don’t want a lot of them, but that is true of most of this class. Unlike most of the others, I can definitely see having two of these, but no more, unless we invite friends along. Speaking of friends, I once knew an angel and I still remember her fondly. Writing about this drink I can’t help but recall that she had the most lovely…ummmm…personality. Truly a remarkable girl. Where was I? Oh yes, thinking about Angel’s…ummm…I mean angels. You know it is easy to forget that the Devil we were drinking a Dark and Smoky with just a couple of days ago was once an angel. Way before the fall and his whole “better to rule in hell than serve in heaven” petulance, he was God’s most favored, the most illustrious in all of the heavenly host. The bright and shining morning star who loved God so much that he refused to bow to his creation and was cast out for that sin of pride. I always found that an interesting twist, that the most beloved and brightest is cast out and becomes the enemy.

I have always sort of preferred the version we see in Job, where God and Satan are on opposite, but not necessarily adversarial, sides. You can see this theme repeated in George Burns classic “Oh God! You Devil!” and more recently with Aziraphale and Crowley, serving as proxies, in “Good Omens“, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Yep, I just invoked the final Oh God! movie as if it were a scholarly work and I did it with a straight face. So, let that be a lesson to you about who to trust. I mean, I am not wrong, but it just feels a little dirty, doesn’t it? The thing is, we all have our own angels and demons inside and in our past. Some we remember fondly, at least parts of them anyway, and some we view with regret, but they all had a hand in shaping who we are today. So, remember to thank your devils, even when they have halos and wings and give your angels a little room to be naughty from time to time, because we all need that balance. Stay safe, stay hydrated and stay sane, my friends.