Inspired by the iconic Mendl’s Courtesan Au Chocolat from The Grand Budapest Hotel, this cocktail combines Peanut Butter Whiskey, Amarula Citrus Cream Liqueur, lemon juice, and coco bitters, decorated with grenadine glaze and sea salt, offering a sweet, chocolatey dessert-like drink perfect for a jailbreak plan. (Recipe Below)
Mr. Moustafa's story tells of a love that blossomed over the project were Zero and Agatha spent several hours together setting rock picks into Mendl’s cakes, a jail break plan- call it, Mission: Courtesans Au Chocolat planned by M.Gustave's fellow inmate Ludwig (Harvey Keitel). Every good jail break plan involves cake, and every good cocktail menu has a cake-like cocktail. Mendl's Cake, specifically the Courtesan Au Chocolat described in The Grand Budapest Hotel is a choux pastry filled with chocolate and glazed with white chocolate filigree. We started by decorating a coupe glass with a glaze made from grenadine and powdered sugar to get the signature Mendl's pink and sprinkle the glass with fine sea salt to enhance the texture and flavor of the cocktail. To give the cocktail the chocolate-filled choux pastry flavor, Peanut Butter Whiskey, Amarula Citrus Cream Liqueur, Lemon Juice and Coco Bitters are emulsified using a shaker. This cocktail is gently sweet, light and surprisingly very chocolaty. The perfect dessert to eat while laying out plans to break out of a Criminal Internment Camp, it may not last long enough to smuggle a rock pick in it.
Mendl’s Cake
3 oz (90mL) Peanut Butter Whiskey
1.5 oz (45mL) Amarula
.5 oz (15mL) Lemon Juice
4 Dashes Cocoa Bitters
1 Bar Spoon Grenadine
.5 cup (58g) Powdered Sugar
Fine Salt
Make a glaze with the Grenadine and Powdered Sugar. Roll the edge of a coupe glass into glaze then lightly salt and place in freezer to chill. In a shaker tin, combine 3 oz Peanut Butter Whiskey, 1.5 oz Amarula, .5 oz Lemon Juice and 4 dashes of cocoa bitters. Fill shaker with ice. Shake for 30 seconds. Strain into prepared coupe.
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Screwball Peanut Butter Whiskey
70 proof/ 35% ABV
Screwball Spirits, LLC
A flavored American Whiskey made by redistilling whiskey (specific mash bill not available) with peanut and sugar added. The result is an amber colored whiskey that is syrupy sweet and tastes strongly of peanuts similar to mixing peanut butter with honey.
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Amarula Cream Liqueur
34 proof/17% ABV
Southern Liqueur Company
A fruit distilled liqueur made with the citrus fruit of the African marula tree, filtered, then cream and sugar are added to balance sweetness and alcohol content. Sweet and creamy, the citrus in this cream liqueur is lightly floral and countered by the caramel flavor added to the liqueur.
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Lemon Juice
5-6% acidity
Less acidic than lime juice, lemon juice will add enough acidity to brighten flavors without overpowering when balanced with sweetness. Usually our preference when needing acid to emulsify with egg white, aquafaba or cream.
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Angostura Cocoa Bitters
56 proof/48% ABV
Angostura Limited
An easy way to add cocoa flavor to a cocktail. Cocoa bitters will add depth of flavor to cocktails with its bitter chocolate flavor.
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Grenadine
Grenadine is a common non-alcoholic beverage syrup used for its color, sweetness and syrup consistency. Commercially produced grenadine is more sweet and less citrusy from artisan made grenadine. Grenadine syrup is easy to make in small batches at home resulting in more pomegranate flavor.
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Powdered Sugar
Can be added to provide sweetness and as a stabilizer in creams or aquafaba.
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Salt
Salt is a great flavor changer. It can balance sweetness and bitterness, smoothing out a cocktail. It can also enhance citrus flavor and acidity without the need for more acid. It is most commonly used in rimming cocktail glasses, but a sprinkle in the cocktail shaker can really impact a cocktail. Make it into a saline solution to enhance stirred cocktails.
Sip on The Grand Budapest Hotel with Two Inspired Cocktails: "Boy With Apple" and "Mendl’s Cake" Bring Art, Intrigue and Romance to Life
In The Grand Budapest Hotel, the story of concierge M. Gustave and his lobby boy Zero unfolds through a series of absurd events, including a heist, an arrest, a jailbreak, and a priceless painting—Boy With Apple—bequeathed to Gustave. Inspired by this painting, the first cocktail, called "Boy With Apple," blends Apple Brandy, Granny Smith Apple Saccharum, infused Butterfly Pea Flowers, ginger syrup, and champagne, offering a taste of the Central European elegance and intrigue seen in the film. The second cocktail, inspired by Mendl’s Cake Courtesan Au Chocolat, mimics the iconic dessert with flavors of peanut butter whiskey, Amarula Citrus Cream Liqueur, lemon juice, and coco bitters, topped with a pink glaze and sea salt. These cocktails pay tribute to the film’s mix of opulent, quirky, and heartwarming themes of love and loyalty, as Zero and Agatha’s romance blossoms amidst the chaos.
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