As you can imagine, after finally getting my hands on Parfait Amour, the first thing I did was find the recipe that had first piqued my interest long ago; the Jupiter cocktail. I originally found the recipe and description of the drink in Ted Haigh’s Vintage and Forgotten Cocktails but Robert Hess presents the same recipe on his drinkboy.com site here (with a slight variation we’ll discuss below) with the same warning Haigh offers in not overdoing the Parfait Amour in the drink. But before we get into the construction and flavors of the drink itself, a look at Parfait Amour.

Parfait Amour (or Parfait d’Amour if you’re feeling particularly Continental) is produced by two manufacturers; Marie Brizard and Bols, from France and the Netherlands, respectively. There is some variation between the two apparently, but since I have no access to Bols I can’t speak specifically to what they are. As for the Marie Brizard its nose is heavy on the orange (in a curacao, not a triple sec, sense) with a floral and marshmallowish back end. It smells like it looks, sweet and purple. In tasting it I can see how this would overpower a drink as its flavor profile isn’t unpleasant but is very distinctive and heavy. Not to mention the sheer sweetness of the liqueur; it’s pretty unabashed in its syrupy quality. Ok, then, on with the Jupiter, which appears to be a wet-ass Martini with additional nuances.

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