Today, I want to tell you a story about a fantastic land, a land so coveted it was claimed by six nations–until one day, a group claimed it as their own, once and for all.
I’ve crafted the Lone Star, a cocktail inspired by my research into the Texas Revolution. Now, when one crafts a drink based on the history and culture of Texas, a lot of things come to mind. Perhaps too much. There’s Davey Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William Travis who had major impacts in Texas’ evolution. But with a history so vast and intimidating, I decided to focus on something simple, but delicious: Texas barbecue.
Large portions cooked in fire? Sounds revolutionary to me. But is it possible to make a drink that tastes like barbecue?
Oh yes, and all it takes is three ingredients. Sweet Tea Moonshine, which is bold, brash, and its sweetness masks its potent punch. Brandy, whose similar in structure to the Moonshine, in that it’s boozy and sweet, but it also does a tremendous job of rounding out the flavors. And lastly, we have Mezcal, whose savory flavors differentiates itself from the others and it contains a tremendous smokiness that is very unique.
Our first ingredient is Sweet Tea Moonshine. It’s sweet and bold flavor reminds me of Stephen F. Austin, a man who led people from the southern United States to settle in Texas and whose personality mimics that of the liquor. His boldness, I think, is best summed up by his visit to Mexico City in 1833. That year, he brought to the attention of the Vice President of Mexico the desires and grievances of the people of Texas. While he was successful in rectifying many of their issues with the government, he was unable to gain for them the principal issue: statehood for Texas.
So, he decided the next best thing to do would be to circumvent his superiors and write to the municipal government of San Antonio in Texas suggesting a declaration of statehood, in spite of the Mexican government. What was the worst thing that could happen? Well, he was arrested and imprisoned from 1834-35.
Next, we have Mezcal, the savory and smoky element of our drink that transforms this cocktail into that barbecue taste we’re looking for. This ingredient brings another historical figure to mind: the esteemed Generalissimo Santa Anna certainly had his own smoky aspect to his personality.
After removing Bustamante from office, Santa Anna assumed control of the country and was, at first, a federalist. That quickly changed, however, when he consolidated power by shifting to a centralist approach–resulting in a lot of tension from the people of Mexico. Santa Anna quashed any dissent in his country through a number of means… but most notably with violent suppression in the Yucatan and Zacatecas.
Once the situation in Mexico was under control, the new president set his sights on that troublesome state of Texas, where we would see the battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto.
The last ingredient in our drink is brandy, which balances and finishes our drink, much like Sam Houston in the story of Texas. Though perhaps not quite as brash as Stephen Austin, Houston was no slouch. Unlike Austin, who back-stabbed Mexico when pushing for Texas independence, Houston front-stabbed Mexico, by leading the Texan forces to the final victory of their revolution when he defeated Santa Anna’s forces at San Jacinto and the new nation of Texas was born.
And, while it’s not necessary, I like to top off our drink with a piece of candied bacon, standing tall in the drink like a flag on the field of victory and independence.
You’ll be amazed how the Lone Star not only captures the essence of the Texas Revolution, but will remind you of the smokey goodness of Texas barbecue. And freedom.
Cheers!
