Smoked Between The Sheets

20ml   Hennessy VSOP Cognac
20ml   Zacapa 23 yrs Rum
20ml   Grand Marnier Orange Liqueur
10ml   Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
5ml     Sugar Syrup (optional. This is to balance of the sourness of lemons)
          Cube Ice
          Bourbon Oak Block

1. Burn a bourbon oak block or chip on a plate and cover it with a cocktail glass. Allow the smoke to coat the glass.
2. Mix rest of ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake.
3. Fine strain the cocktail into the smoked cocktail glass and serve.

Short story:

Climbing out of the still smoking debris, you’re trying to figure out what had happened.

Everywhere seems so chaotic, people screaming, running, smoke everywhere. You are trying to think what you were doing before anything happened. You thought of Sally, you were just off the phone with her about meeting tonight. You were going to tell her how you feel… You mobile phone rang.

“Honey, you there?” It’s Sally.

“Yes babe, where are you?” You heart sank.

Before half your body was buried in the rubble, you were on your way back from the shop where you got that ring for Helen. You were going to break up with Sally and marry your dream girl. You were going to tell her tonight.

“I’m home, are you ok? I saw the news about the hit in your area, are you in the office?”

“No… err… yes! Well, I’m ok.” A sense of guilt crept up your throat. “Sally, can I come over?”

“Are you sure you’re alright honey? Do you need me to pick you up?”

“No, it’s ok. I’ll take the taxi.”

***

You gave Helen a call, no answer.

You met Helen on your trip to France last year. She was explaining how cognac was made and standing by her, you could smell a floral fragrant on her but you couldn’t pinpoint which brand that was. She later told you it was the smell of the spirit that she dapped on her wrist every morning, it’s the smell of dreams.

You are still limping from the hit on the leg by a rock. Other than that, they’re just scratches here and there. Your jeans are torn from the right knee down when you were trying to pull your leg out of the wreck. You’re surprised that you’re still in one piece, the debris you climbed out from once belonged to a 5 stories mall. You were already at the main entrance getting ready to cross the road while it collapsed. You still don’t know what caused it but there are more important things you have to do now.

You were walking away from the scene and the medic was trying to stop you to look at your injury. You waved him off and kept walking. In the taxi, you tried Helen again. The ringer went to voicemail, “Helen, it’s me. Call me back?”

You stayed in touch with Helen professionally until she received a job posting to your city 9 months ago. You started to see each other more and more often and 3 months ago, you realized that she’s the one you wanted to spend the rest of your life with. You had to tell Sally but you were a coward and couldn’t bring it up to her everytime you were together. This morning, you made up your mind - sort this out or never.

At Sally’s kitchen, you grab the bottle of Hennessy VSOP you bought last year for your birthday to challenge yourself on making a cocktail with it. Sally looked on without saying a word, you normally only drink that strong stuff on special occasion and it’s only midafternoon now. Then she poured herself a rum, on the rock.

Popping the cork, you still remember Sally laughing at you about being a bit too geeky on your drinks and why make a cocktail that strong when you can down it straight without the hassle and still get drunk with it?

You are thinking about Helen now, where is she?

Pouring out the cognac, you took the bottle of rum from Sally’s hand and started mixing it up with your drink. You cringe at the strength of the mixture and figured you should add some soemthing to make the drink more palatable. You need it strong now, to give you the courage.

The smell of the smoke still in your nostrils, “Sally, there is something I need to tell you…”

- Kim Choong