Remember the Lion’s Mane

• 1.5 oz. Balcones Baby Blue whiskey
• 0.5 oz. Bison Grass vodka
• 0.5 oz. Art in the Age Black Trumpet Blueberry Cordial
• 0.5 oz. sweet vermouth
• 0.25 oz. ginger liqueur
• dash of Angostura bitters
• dash of lion’s mane extract

Stir with ice and strain into coupe. Garnish with three blueberries.

I purchased the lion’s mane extract several years ago with the hopes of putting it into a drink, but never found the right opportunity. That was until recently when I picked up the black trumpet blueberry Cordial at Tamworth Distilling, and suddenly was inspired. The cordial is sweet and fruity with just a hint of earthiness from the mushroom.

Corn and blueberries was my initial thought here, and it seemed to work well. For additional sweetness, and to complement the blueberry, I added the ginger, then went further with a bit of sweet vermouth to also add a touch of bitter herbaceousness. The Angostura was required to even things out, and of course the mushroom extract was the whole point, strengthening the umami of the black trumpet. Something wasn’t quite right at this point, so I reduced the whiskey and added in some Bison Grass which gave the drink the right final note.

It’s sort of a riff on one of my favorite cocktails, Remember the Maine, with the blueberry subbing for the cherry. With the addition of the mushroom the new name was obvious.

And it shall never be forgotten.