There are wondrous things….

I conjured up the Eld Fen Martini based on a Twitter suggestion by the Tanis Podcast.  And here it is:

But first….

What Is Eld Fen?

Eld Fen also known as Old Fen or King Wurm is a….presence.  And it’s seriously fucking creepy.  Eld Fen sleeps in the darkest part  of the deepest forest. But it’s waking up.  And it’s coming…..

Ever walk alone in the woods and all of a sudden the hairs on the back of your neck prick up and you know something else is there?  You can’t see it or hear it….yet…but it’s there?  Just waiting? Now imagine doing that in the dark.  And you walk into  a circle of birch trees and the crisp smells of the forest fade into something that is sweet and swampy and rotten all at the same time.

You thought you would be safe in the circle but you’ve turned around a few times trying to find the thing that is out there and now you have no idea which direction is home.  Which is scary because you’re out there in the dark all alone.

Now multiply that fear by a thousand.  Because the truly frightening thing is that you’re not alone.  Because you’ve woken it up. And it’s coming.

And when it does?  There will be blood. And madness.  And unspeakable horror.

That’s Eld Fen.

There are magical things….

Sweet hopscotching Jesus!  I was trying to give you all the Tanis-y creepy chill and managed to scare myself!.  Good thing I’ve got a lovely martini to calm me down!

What Is The Eld Fen Martini?

It’s an Eld(erflower) and Fen(nel) Martini with a splash of Chartreuse. So it’s sweet from the Elderflowers, anisey (Tanis – y?) from the fennel and herby from the Chartreuse. Delicious.  The perfect pick me up after a hard day’s work searching for a place that may or may not exist.  And may make people crazy when they find it.

The hardest thing about making the Eld Fen Martini was trying to walk the line between making something that conveyed the swampy, sickly  aspects of Eld Fen without making it so disgusting that no one would ever want to drink it.  I felt my first attempt, which did not have the Chartreuse, was too pretty, this did not at all convey swampy, hint of pus look I wanted.

Hmm….

I bet you never read that last sentence in a food blog before. And now you know why I chose Eld Fen over Hint Of Pus Martini.

What do you mean you don’t want to have a drink with me?  It’s not real pus.  It’s Chartreuse. Made by Monks.  And not those spooky Order of Cenophus Monks from The Black Tapes.  These are proper French Monks who are far too busy tending their garden of 130 herbs so they can make lovely, delicious Chartreuse to:

1. Kidnap an itinerant
2. Rip someone else’s face off.
3. Sew said face onto itinerant
4. Push itinerant off a monastery tower.

Oh FFS, as if I hadn’t already scared myself enough with Eld Fen.  Now I’m freaking out about murderous monks!

There are dangerous things….

I wanted the garnish on the Eld Fen to maintain the dark edge.  My favorite maraschino cherry was just a little bit too perky for this.  So I went with a blueberry /blackberry garnish.  And OMG, if you give these a teeny squish?  They start to release little lines of juice which look like veins or splashes of blood! Perfect!

You Get What You Deserve

Here’s the recipe.

Eld Fen Martini

Print Recipe

A delicious and refreshing cocktail inspired by the Tanis Podcast

• Author: Taryn Fryer

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For The Fennel Syrup

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 medium bulb fresh fennel, roughly chopped

For The Eld Fen Martini

• 30ml Fennel Syrup
• 30ml Vodka
• 30ml St Germain Elderflower Liqueur
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• Splash of Chartreuse
• Ice

For The Garnish

• 2 blueberries
• 1 blackberry

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

For The Fennel Simple Syrup

1. Give the fennel seeds a few good whacks with a pestle or heavy rolling pin.
2. Place the water, sugar, fennel seeds and chopped fennel in a small pan.
3. Bring to a boil, then simmer for around 10 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
5. Strain to remove the fennel and fennel seeds.
6. Place in fridge until required.

For The Cocktail

1. Chill your martini glass.
2. Pour the vodka, St Germain, fennel simple syrup, lime juice and Chartreuse into a shaker filled with ice.
3. Shake, baby, shake.
4. Pour into your martini glass.
5. Garnish with blueberries and blackberry that have been slightly bruised to release some juice.
6. Enjoy!

Notes

• You will have enough Fennel Simple Syrup to make plenty of these!

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1

To find Eld Fen, you need a Navigator.

Why you would want to find Eld Fen is utterly beyond me.  Is your tv broken?  Play some Words With Friends, read a book, write a blog, take up yoga…there are so many things you could do with your life that do not entail pushing you to the brink of sanity and life itself.  But if you must find Eld Fen…you’ll need a navigator.  And that’s where we’ll go next time….

In the meantime, keep looking.