Cocktail Painting — The Nighthawk
Evoking stark contrasts between light and dark, and between loneliness and community, Nighthawks is a famous 1942 painting by Edward Hopper. Nighthawks also is the title of a not nearly as famous 1981 action film starring Sylvester Stallone and Billy Dee Williams (with Rutger Hauer as the terrorist Wulfgar – no relation). Unrelated to the painting or the film, the Nighthawk cocktail is a creation from Eryn Reece in New York City. Courtesy of Instagram, I learned about the Nighthawk from Artist with a Cocktail and Rob Balazs.
The Nighthawk
2 ounces mezcal
.75 ounces sweet vermouth
.25 ounces coffee liqueur
Directions
Combine in a mixing glass with ice, stir with the purpose of an avian hunting under cover of darkness, and strain into a chilled glass. Orange peel garnish optional.
Mezcal gives the Nighthawk a sturdy and smoky foundation for this liquid piece of art. You’ll find mezcal, the spiritual (pun intended) cousin of tequila, in other cocktails such as the All Jacked Up and the Dead Poet. The sweet vermouth adds some flavor depth the without making the cocktail too boozy. As in the Pura Vida, the Nighthawk illustrates how mezcal and coffee liqueur, each of which can stand alone, blending together in harmony.
Whether you fly alone or fly together, a Nighthawk is a cocktail you want when the sun goes down.