Van Gogh, by the glass

Dear SOS: I was recently in New York City and visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In conjunction with its Van Gogh exhibition, they were offering a Champagne cocktail called Starry Night at the Petrie Court Cafe. It was one of the best I have ever tasted.

NEAL KLEMENS

Eagle Rock

Dear Neal: An absinthe substitute called Absente gives this cocktail its entrancing anise flavor. The sale of real absinthe has been banned in the United States since 1915, but Absente, available at fine wine retailers such as Wine Expo in Santa Monica and Wally’s Wines & Spirits in Los Angeles, is made without the botanical that brought on the ban.

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Starry Night

Total time: 1 minute

Servings: 1

1 teaspoon Absente

1 teaspoon blackberry

brandy

1/4 teaspoon cassis liqueur

Pommery Brut Champagne or other brut Champagne

1. Measure the Absente, blackberry brandy and cassis into a Champagne flute.

2. Add Champagne, stir briefly and serve.

Each serving: 113 calories; 0 protein; 6 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 0 fat; 0 saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 0 sodium.