Avon Buttered Rum and Spiced Apple Lip Balms

1990s? I think? maybe 1980s?

[Reader Request] Financier Cobbler | Mitsuru Kirijo | Persona 3 

[Note: Not exactly sure how to calculate yield/abv for this kind of drink using the morgenthaler spreadsheet. gomenasorry] 

This is the second specific reader request post for the blog and a very good friend of mine requested a drink based on the imperious empress and your close upperclassman in SEES, Mitsuru from Persona 3! This was actually a really interesting one to develop. I definitely felt like it had to have a little something eyecatching in the presentation, ideally a reddish element, but the truth is, drinks-wise, except for 5 really with the coffe shop, Persona games don’t give you a ton to work with. This is why we do research, and why I was also very relieved -- and inspired -- by the discovery that in the seemingly infinite amount of Persona spinoff media, something about Mitsuru’s tastes is revealed; Specifically, a taste for fresh fruit and financier cake. Financier is a very refined cake that is deceptively simple when evaluated on its ingredients list; sugar, almond flour, browned butter, maybe sliced almond or a raspberry on top... something clicked in my head. The cobbler, traditionally made with about 3-4 ounces of lower-proof sherry, a little sugar, fruit, and a cornucopia of attractive garnishes, is much like a financier; you can’t hide behind poor technique or imbalanced flavor. Their clarity is upfront, but reveals depth and nuance in a well made one. I think that also reflects Mitsuru, leading me to marry them into a drink she would enjoy. This did also give me the crazy challenge of making a baked good into a drink. It’s early winter here, and so the concept came to me, of taking a really interesting way of infusing spirits with flavor and using it in a very unusual context. A few guides exist for butter-washed rum, in the context of making a hot buttered rum. Would it work in a cold drink, piled high with tiny jewels of ice and adornment? 

Well, actually, I think its great.  

3-5 Raspberries

1 half wheel slice orange, about as wide as your pinky

1 wedge lemon, about 1/4-1/3 of the fruit sliced lengthwise

2 fl oz or 60ml Browned Butter Washed Rum (see below) 

.75 fl oz or 22.5ml Amaretto 

.25 fl oz or 7.5ml Demerara Syrup 

.25 fl oz or 7.5ml Orgeat

[If you don’t have orgeat, just use a .5 ounce demerara syrup or other sugar syrup of your choice. The orgeat split just adds a bit more of a baked-good element]

In a mixing tin, combine the syrup(s) and fruit. Muddle them by firmly pressing them. You don’t have to beat the crap out of them, but get them fairly squished. Add your rum and amaretto liqueur. Stir them together a little bit with a little cracked ice, since rum is higher proof than the traditional sherry the dilution won’t hurt. 

At this point, I would have your glass prepared to receive. You can roll it, even shake it if you want, but I usually just kind of stir or swirl them together. Pour the whole thing into your glass. Then fill the glass -- this is a pilsner glass, which depending how much ice we use and the size of our citrus pieces gives us decent headroom -- with finely cracked/crushed/pebbled ice. Some people add a little ice before pouring it in, but I like the nice frosty pile of ice on top. You will serve with a straw. Stick that in now. 

Garnishing time! Get her all nice and pretty. Use some more raspberries or other berries like strawberry slices if you have them, that other half of the orange wheel, a nice sprig of mint, and maybe a little dusting of powdered or caster sugar. As a final touch and nod to the financier cake, the admittedly completely decorative but charming arrangement of sliced almonds on top completes the look. The over-the-top garnishes of the modern Bloody Mary are really just the new take on the 19th century luxury of a glass covered in fresh fruit, sugar and mint, filled with the opulence of all that shining ice. Truly a drink fit for an empress. 

Is this a lengthy process, that requires a fair bit of attentiveness and some prepwork? Yes. Is it worth it? Honestly, I think it is. It’s a really unique, delicious long drink. But I mean, if you play Persona games I think you can master this, too. According to howlongtobeat, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 takes almost 90 hours to beat! You could make batches and batches of these in that time! Speaking of, 

Below the cut you will find the guidance on creating roughly 1 bottle of Brown Butter-washed Rum