• 作者: dfmzhu
• 來源: 佛山展翅調酒咖啡西點培訓學校
• 日期: 2016-07-17
• 瀏覽次數: 3150 次

The itinerant vodka cocktail that deserves to wander on to modern menus. By Seamus Harris. 這款四處流浪的伏特加雞尾酒值得成為現代酒單的一員。Seamus Harris撰文。

從喬治•比才的卡門到夏洛蒂•勃朗特筆下喬裝打扮的羅徹斯特先生，吉普賽人在歐洲人的想象中始終占據著一個小而生動的角落。在那個世襲君主制當道的時代，吉普賽民主選舉首領的理念尤其令人神往。即使在今天，吉普賽女王這個名字仍然有著巨大的魔力，引發人們對那個逝去年代的無限遐想。在過去一個世紀甚至更為久遠的歲月里，吉普賽女王曾被拿來給各種東西冠名，其中有煙草品牌、運河船、飛機引擎、無聲電影、風信子、1970年代地下搖滾樂隊的單曲、1920年代游遍美國的母馬、眾多英國夜總會、數不清的賽馬，當然還有雞尾酒。

From Georges Bizet’s Carmen to Charlotte Bronte’s disguised Mr Rochester, gypsies have long monopolised a small but lively corner of the European imagination. Especially captivating has been the notion of gypsy royalty, democratically elected in a time of all-powerful hereditary monarchs. Even today the name Gypsy Queen retains a nostalgic magnetism. Over the past century or more, Gypsy Queen has variously referred to a tobacco brand, a canal boat, an aircraft engine, a silent movie, a hyacinth, a single from a 1970s underground rock band, a mare famous for traversing every state of the US in the 1920s, multiple English pubs, countless racehorses and a cocktail.

這款稀有伏特加雞尾酒的起源可以追溯到威士忌和金酒稱霸的前伏特加年代。出于對裝飾藝術的盲目崇拜，軟呢帽狂人們對這種大眾烈酒根本瞧不上眼，但這一值得復興的伏特加風潮先驅定會讓他們眼界大開。

This last is a rare vodka drink with pedigree dating to the pre-vodka age, when whisky and gin ruled unchallenged. Worthy of a revival, this trailblazer on vodka’s rise to pre-eminence is a perfect eye-opener for fedora fetishists seduced into sniffy disdain for the plain spirit by blind worship of Art Deco aesthetics.

吉普賽女王（有時簡稱為吉普賽）很可能誕生于禁酒令后的紐約，當時伏特加在美國充其量只能算是個新奇之物。William Guyer所著的《歡樂調酒師》（1933年）就是這種心態的真實寫照。Guyer在原料部分不無諷刺地說伏特加 “在俄語中代表著‘糟糕透頂’”，通篇未收錄一種伏特加雞尾酒。即使是1930年代露天廣場上最有先見之明的吉普賽占卜師，也無法透過水晶球預見伏特加會在二十年之后顛覆酒飲界格局。

Likely invented in post-Prohibition New York, the Gypsy Queen (sometimes simply the Gypsy) was born into a world where vodka was a curiosity at best. William Guyer’s The Merry Mixer(1933) summarises the mindset of the day. Guyer lists vodka in his ingredients section solely to glibly dismiss it as “Russian for ‘horrendous’”, and does not pollute his bible with a single vodka cocktail. Even the most prescient gypsy fortune teller working a 1930s fairground could hardly have peered into her crystal ball and warned that within two decades vodka would turn the drinking world on its head.

不過這在日后的確成為了現實，而這從吉普賽女王的豐富層次中可以窺見些許端倪。吉普賽女王一點也不單調乏味，充分展現了伏特加尤其是絕對伏特加的調酒潛力，換一種風味更佳的烈酒反倒會讓它失色。它的出現還讓一個棘手的難題迎刃而解。像法國廊酒和查特酒這樣有益健康的草本利口酒味道甘美，但純飲的話會太甜——黑咖啡可以起到很好的中和作用，不過餐后同時飲用咖啡和利口酒的傳統現在幾乎消失了。所以，這一類好喝的利口酒雖然不容忽視，卻只在寥寥幾款雞尾酒中得到了運用，而且沒有一款完整展現了它們的美妙風味。吉普賽女王以一種自由奔放的方式解決了這個問題；打破常規，把伏特加作為基酒。

But that is exactly what happened, and the Gypsy Queen’s luminous depths reveal hints of why. Far from a dull cocktail that would be improved by substituting something more flavoursome for the vodka, the Gypsy Queen showcases vodka’s mixological power. This is a drink that solves a real problem. Luscious herbal elixirs like Benedictine and Chartreuse are overly sweet if sipped straight – with black coffee they come into their own, but the tradition of after-dinner coffee and liqueurs is now seldom observed. So you have a class of liqueurs too delicious to neglect, yet showcased in only a few cocktails, which in any case obscure their full deliciousness. The free-spirited solution conjured up by the Gypsy Queen was to thumb her nose at convention and pour vodka as a base.

吉普賽女王用伏特加對法國廊酒進行了慷慨的洗禮。法國廊酒讓伏特加變得有趣，而絕對伏特加的順滑和飽滿將法國廊酒的甜膩變得平衡和清新怡人。正如后退幾步可以更好地欣賞畫作，絕對伏特加為法國廊酒打開了一個更為廣闊的視野。相比后來出現的伏特加雞尾酒，別出心裁的吉普賽女王更加符合手工雞尾酒的精髓，即使是最激進的反伏特加狂熱分子也無法抗拒它的魔力。

The Gypsy Queen baptises Benedictine liberally with vodka. The Benedictine makes the vodka interesting, while the vodka chisels Benedictine’s saccharine excess into a balanced and bracing aperitif. Like stepping back from a painting, the vodka opens a more panoramic perspective on the Benedictine. This innovative cocktail is craftier than most subsequent vodka creations, a magic potion to spark reflection from even the fiercest anti-vodka zealot.

順便提一下，那匹母馬吉普賽女王的環美之旅無意間蒙上了一層懷舊色彩。它的主人Frank M Heath在日記中詳細記載了這次歷時兩年的旅程，當時汽車逐漸興起，大篷車慢慢被淘汰，對吉普賽人來說在這個世界上生存越來越艱難。他們的其他生計也逐漸步上了大篷車的后塵，如采摘啤酒花和豌豆（現在都是靠機器完成），或者販賣手工編織的冬青樹花環及木制衣夾（現在都是中國制造的塑料制品）。吉普賽人的生活失去了游走在日常生活邊緣的多姿多彩，如今那只存在于人們的想象之中。

Incidentally, the journey across the United States by the mare christened Gypsy Queen proved unintentionally nostalgic. Painstakingly recorded in diary form by her rider, one Frank M Heath, this two-year trip coincided with the rise of the automobile, the disappearance of the horse and cart, and the transformation of the world into a place inhospitable to gypsies. Other mainstays of gypsy life have gradually gone the way of the horse and cart, such as picking hops and peas (now done by machines), or selling hand-woven holly wreaths and wooden clothes pegs (now plastic and made in China). From colourful figures roaming the fringes of everyday life, gypsies have retreated into the imagination.

不過，歷史的車輪滾滾向前，無人可擋。吉普賽人的時代一去不復返，而伏特加即將步入更光明的未來。沒有必要把前伏特加時代浪漫化：如果心存偏見的手工調酒師像驅趕吉普賽流浪者一樣，傲慢地將伏特加排除在雞尾酒單之外，那就太可惜了。伏特加在調酒天才的妙手中可是魔力無限。

But progress cannot be halted. Just as gypsies are not returning, vodka is not on the verge of decamping for greener pastures. There is no point romanticizing the pre-vodka age and prejudiced craft bartenders miss an opportunity when they snootily banish vodka from cocktail lists as if shooing away some gypsy loiterer. Used adeptly, by one with the gift, vodka has plenty of magic to offer.

The Gypsy Queen / 吉普賽女王

60ml 伏特加
30ml 法國廊酒
1滴 安高天娜苦精

加冰攪勻，濾入冰過的雞尾酒杯。以一小片檸檬皮卷裝飾。

60ml Vodka
30ml Benedictine
1ds Angostura bitters

Stir over ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a small lemon twist.

上述配方比例是1930年代俄國茶室的版本。David Embury建議可以調得更干一些。15毫升法國廊酒和75毫升伏特加的比例也能打造出一款出色雞尾酒。

吉普賽女王改編版本眾多。David Embury推薦使用橙味苦精。也可以用其他草本利口酒代替法國廊酒，如查特酒 。有些老配方甚至加入檸檬和橙汁把它做成酸酒。如果將15毫升伏特加換成干邑，同時減少法國廊酒的用量，風味會更加豐富—— 幾乎就是更微妙的B&B。

These proportions are from the original Russian Tea Room version of the 1930s. There is room to go dryer, which is what David Embury suggests. A ratio of 15ml Benedictine to 75ml vodka still yields a very distinctive drink.

Numerous variations exist. David Embury recommends orange bitters. Other herbal liqueurs, like Chartreuse, can substitute for the Benedictine. Some old recipes even add lemon and orange juices to reinterpret it as a sour. Finally, the cocktail can be enriched by replacing 15ml of the vodka with cognac and cutting back the Benedictine – it becomes almost a delicate take on the B&B.

Five dates to remember / 不可不記的五個時間點

1913

Mack Sennett執導、Mabel Normand和Roscoe Arbuckle主演的無聲電影《吉普賽女王》發行。的確有幾款雞尾酒從電影和音樂劇中獲得靈感，但沒有證據表明吉普賽女王雞尾酒與同名電影有什么瓜葛。

Release of The Gypsy Queen, a silent film directed by Mack Sennett and starring Mabel Normand and Roscoe Arbuckle. While movies and musicals inspired a few cocktails, there is no evidence linking our Gypsy Queen to its cinematic namesake.

1927

具有傳奇色彩的俄國茶室在紐約開業。它更像是一家酒吧兼餐廳而不是茶室，據說是俄羅斯皇家芭蕾舞團的退休成員專門為了招待身在紐約的俄國人而創辦的，不過目前所知最早的老板其實是Albertina Rasch——這位出生在奧地利的波蘭籍猶太人曾在維也納國家歌劇院學藝，但后來在百老匯成名。因為她的百老匯背景，俄國茶室很快吸引了眾多娛樂圈人士，并逐漸成為紐約上流社會經常光顧的場所。

The iconic Russian Tea Room opens in New York, being more bar and restaurant than tea room. Reputedly established to serve New York’s Russian expat community by retired members of the Russian Imperial Ballet, the earliest recorded owner was actually Albertina Rasch – an Austrian-born Polish Jew who studied at the Vienna State Opera but gained fame on Broadway. Her Broadway connections soon attracted entertainment types, and gradually became a fixture of New York high society.

1937

WJ Tarling在《皇家咖啡館雞尾酒手冊》一書中提到了吉普賽女王，但是令人遺憾的是并未給出配方。這本著作有一個附加章節，標題是《其他雞尾酒索引——限于篇幅恕不一一贅述》，讀者可以寫信索取配方，一個配方要價一先令。而我們要想寫信只能等著時光機發明的那一天了。

WJ Tarling’s Cafe Royal Cocktail Book refers to a Gypsy Queen, but frustratingly gives no recipe. The cocktail appears in a supplementary section titled “Index to names of cocktails too numerous for inclusion of recipes in this book”, with readers directed to request recipes by post, at a shilling apiece. Taking up this tempting invitation will have to await the invention of a time machine.

1938

紐約的俄國茶室出版了一本名為《俄國菜肴及原料》的家常菜譜手冊。雞尾酒部分的重點是伏特加，這在那個年代實屬罕見，我們在這里面找到了已知最早的吉普賽女王配方。這款雞尾酒的起源至今不為人知。David Wondrich將這本手冊從歷史的塵埃中挖掘出來，他猜想吉普賽女王可能是俄國茶室自創的酒品。俄國茶室主打1933年的伏特加雞尾酒——禁酒令正是在這一年解除。不過，WJ Tarling之前也提到過吉普賽女王，讓人不禁懷疑它是從其他地方流入紐約的。

New York’s Russian Tea Room releases a booklet of house recipes entitled Russian Dishes and What They Are Made Of. Uniquely for the time, the focus of the cocktail section is vodka, and here we find the earliest known recipe for a Gypsy Queen. The cocktail’s origins remain mysterious. David Wondrich, who unearthed this recipe booklet, reckons it was a house invention. The Russian Tea Room made a feature of vodka cocktails from 1933 – the year Prohibition ended. But the tantalising earlier mention by WJ Tarling invites speculation that the drink drifted into New York from elsewhere.

1950

隨著伏特加逐漸成為美國人酒杯中的寵兒，吉普賽女王——以一個真正流浪者的姿態——仍然在雞尾酒世界的邊緣保持著低調。它會偶然出現在配方手冊里，不過永遠不會威脅到莫斯科騾子或伏特加馬提尼的至尊地位。它也可以簡稱吉普賽（取代了更早出現的以馬提尼為靈感的吉普賽）。David Embury在1958年版《調酒的藝術》中同時用了這兩個名字來稱呼它。

As vodka rolls on towards becoming America’s favourite spirit, the Gypsy Queen, in true traveller fashion, maintains a low profile on the fringes of the cocktail world. It crops up in recipe booklets, but never threatens the popularity of the Moscow Mule or Vodka Martini. The drink also becomes known simply as the Gypsy (replacing the earlier Martini-inspired Gypsy). David Embury lists the drink under both names in the 1958 edition of his The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks.