Joanna Newsom - ‘Ys' + Elderflower Martini
Ingredients: 1 ounce elderflower cordial, 1 ounce Bombay Sapphire gin, 1 ounce Cinzano dry vermouth, 1/2 ounce lime juice.
Mixing Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice. Shake until chilled and strain into a chilled martini glass.
Notes: If I have to sum up Joanna Newsom in a short note, I’d say you’re probably not likely to fully understand her at a glance. She has the ability to unfold a beautiful story with thoughtful lyrics, an unmatched technical skill on the harp even among other performance harpists (she makes polyrhythm seem like something anyone could do. *note—you probably can’t), and she has the ability to make a harp a primary instrument across an entire album and never get dull. Don’t get me wrong, her voice can sound a bit quirky if something like that is likely to turn you away, and the harp IS a non-traditional instrument to hear through your stereo by itself… but sit down with an Elderflower Martini and listen to Joanna Newsom masterfully perform the tracks on Ys. It is an exercise worth completing.