Want to add some zing to your Passover seder? David Kedson’s book, “The Ten Plagues of Cocktails,” may be just what you need.
Filled with detailed instructions for creating the 10 plague-themed cocktails, it also contains general bartending tips to help you up your cocktail-making skills. And, of course these creative concoctions can also be enjoyed year-round.
“The main criterion is for each cocktail to be appropriate for a particular plague, either by its name, its ingredients, its appearance or preferably all three,” Kedson told The Journal.
In developing these drinks, he first searched for traditional cocktails that fit each of the plagues.
“For example, for the plague called locusts, I went with the classic cocktail, the Grasshopper,” Kedson said. “If I couldn’t find a great fit, then I invented a new cocktail, like the Blood Orange Blossom for the plague called blood.”
He added, “In addition to that, I’ve made an effort to serve cocktails with a variety of flavors, style and colors, to make the full set as visually appealing as possible and to optimize the drinking experience.”
Kedson came up with the idea, because he was searching for a way to make the holiday more palatable.
“Passover has always been my least favorite holiday; I suspect it’s because as a child, my birthday always seemed to fall on Passover and thus I never got a decent birthday cake,” he said. “After I got married, my wife informed me that we would be hosting a large family Passover seder every year for the rest of our natural lives.”
About five years ago, on a family vacation to Ireland, one of his nieces commented that a drink on a menu sounded like one of the 10 Plagues of Egypt.
“The light bulb went off and I decided to make the “10 Plagues of Cocktails” at our next seder, serving a fun cocktail for every plague,” he said. “We’ve been doing it every year since and it’s incredibly popular … with our guests [and] with everyone I tell.”
Here are some of Kedson’s cocktails to try out with your guests this Passover.
Blood Orange Blossom (Blood)
I love fresh blood orange juice, so this is one of my favorite cocktails, plague or not. The color is perfect for blood, the name of the main ingredient couldn’t be more on point and the flavor is very popular among my guests. A version of it can also be made as a mocktail.
Ingredients
2 parts gin
1 part triple sec
3 parts fresh-squeezed blood orange juice
½ part fresh-squeezed lime juice
Dash of bitters
Add ice to the shaker.
Pour ingredients into the shaker.
Shake and pour through the shaker’s strainer.
Covid Ninetini (latest strain) (Pestilence)
The name really shouts, “pestilence,” doesn’t it? Plus it’s funny. The color is a striking blue, which you don’t see very often.
Ingredients
1 part vanilla vodka
1 part coconut rum
1 ½ parts blue curacao
½ part fresh pineapple juice (blend pineapple chunks with water then strain to make juice)
Add ice to the shaker.
Pour ingredients into the shaker.
Shake and pour.
Hour Before Sunrise (Darkness)
Made with fresh blackberry juice, which is fairly unusual for a cocktail, it’s an interesting blend of diverse ingredients. The purple color is both fitting for darkness and is not all that common in the cocktail world. A version of it also makes a nice mocktail.
Ingredients
1 ½ parts vanilla vodka
¾ parts St. Germain (elderflower liqueur)
2 parts fresh blackberry juice (blend blackberries with water then strain to make juice)
1 part coconut milk
½ part agave syrup
½ part fresh-squeezed lime juice
Add ice to the shaker.
Pour ingredients into the shaker.
Shake and pour through the shaker’s strainer.
Deadly Montego Slay (Slaying of the First Born)
If you’re going to feature this dreadful plague, the drink had better be special, and I think this one is. I love spicy drinks, and the heat combined with the richness of the mango makes a memorable combination.
Ingredients
2 parts Ghost Pepper Tequila
1 part Apricot Liqueur
2 parts mango-pepper puree (blend mango chunks and hot red pepper with water to make puree)
½ part fresh-squeezed lime juice
Splash of agave syrup
Dash of bitters
Dash of grenadine
Add ice to the shaker.
Pour ingredients into the shaker.
Shake and pour through the shaker’s strainer.
