There’s a literary technique called a peripeteia which refers to a sudden reversal of circumstances or change in fortune. The device can take many forms but you’re probably most familiar with it in one of it’s less common forms where a character will leave and then come back right at the end to save the day when they’re least expected. It’s usually an unsavory character of some sort, a Han Solo archetype or just plain villain who is viewed as selfish, or evil, who leaves or is considered to be useless, who then reappears and changes everyone’s mind. There’s too many examples: The best, of course, is when Vader sacrifices his life in order to pick up The Emperor at the end of Return of the Jedi and toss the ugly evil son of a bitch down a massive elevator shaft in order to save Luke. The Emperor’s wicked sith lightning reacts poorly with the electronics in Vader’s suit and body prosthetics and in the end, kills the man formerly known as Anakin Skywalker.

Yes, I will now apply this technique to the cocktail world. Because every so often your friendly neighborhood bartenders need to be rescued by an old standby, a stalwart member of the pantheon that swoops in to save the menu from looking too barren. Enter: The Glass Hammer.

Thanks to Sweet Tiff and the Koji Kid I have a solid passionfruit connect from an organic farm in Malibu. We’ve been swimming in fresh tortured Jesus fruit this year but I’ve also been swimming in lethargy and depression due to the holidays so my creative juices haven’t been exactly flowing like Bradley Cooper’s hair. I’ve got just 20 blog posts after this one to make a nice uneven 365. Yeah, I started this blog on January 4, 2023 and posted almost everyday since then. I’ve missed just 8 all year which is pretty good but also activates this really strange ADHD/OCD I have where I’ll still look back and get angry with myself for missing those 8 posts over the course of 2023. Anyway…What was I talking about? Oh yeah, passionfruit.

The menu has been admittedly a little weird. Every so often we do a “tiki lounge” when things all come together and there’s three seasonal tiki drinks at the bottom of the drink menu. Because they’re mostly rum, they’re not too popular with the rabble. The real ones know though and it’s a blast for them. This year we had some really fucking good ones too, especially a current one from the wunderkind Angel called Bishop’s Blood with coconut, makrut lime, guava, milk washed tequila, cachaca, agricole rhum, and believe it or not, ultra aged celery shrub. Yeah. The celery component isn’t on the menu though…Sometimes it’s better not to tell everyone about everything, you know?

The Glass Hammer is easy. Just a few ingredients, but delicious. It comes from the cocktail of the same formula but different moniker called the Ass Hammer, something intended to be shot down in one fell swoop. Of course, we couldn’t put that one on the menu and we’ve also had to tone down the absinthe portion because I’m almost out and don’t want to order anything else before the new year comes rolling around.

Listen: Sometimes you need some easy ones during the Christmas season.

I rarely bring back old cocktails there’s a couple that come to mind. The Cure. Bloodsport. This one. But I think that’s really it. Maybe the Hummingbird come citrus season. I really liked that one. There’s nothing wrong with bringing back old recipes, especially when they’re desperately needed–it’s just more fun coming up with new ones…And it makes you look good, no?

Glass Hammer

2 oz. London Dry Gin

.75 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice

.5 oz. Passionfruit

4 Dashes Absinthe

Champagne Floater