Tame Impala - ‘Lonerism’ + Absinthe Sazerac
Ingredients: 2 ounces rye whiskey, 4 dashes Peychaud Bitters (Angostura can be substituted if necessary), 1/2 teaspoon absinthe, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1 lemon peel for garnish.
Mixing Instructions: Fill an old-fashioned glass with 1 cup ice and set aside. In a second glass, stir together bitters, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon water until completely dissolved (30sec). Add rye whiskey and 1/2 cup ice, and stir well (15sec). Discard the ice in the first glass and add absinthe. Holding glass horizontally, role it between your thumbs and forefingers so that the absinthe completely coats the interior, discarding the excess. Strain rye whiskey mixture into chilled, absinthe-coated glass. Squeeze lemon peel over drink making sure the oils fall into the glass then drop peel into drink and serve.
Notes: Psychedelic rock is like your reckless playwright cousin who drinks a little too much. From one minute to another he can either be your closest confidante, solemnly pouring over life’s mysteries with you, or your most imbecile and frustrating acquaintance, babbling nonsense and defiantly calling it grand. Tame Impala has managed not once, but twice now to make a psychedelic rock album that is absolutely the former and not the latter.
'Lonerism' is grand and expansive without losing itself in the ether. As Dan Stubbs of NME astutely observed, “Where most pilfer from The Beatles in the widest sense, ‘Lonerism’ seems to dig directly from one album - 1966’s 'Revolver' - and particularly from one track: ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’”. Maybe it’s because I consider this one of the greatest songs of all time, but it all works really well. The DNA matches, but in a way that gives a nod to the past without camping out there too long. Pick a night that you need to escape for an hour and pair Tame Impala’s majestic album with an equally mind-bending absinthe cocktail.