阿爾卑斯蒿酒與雞尾酒的邂逅

ONE SHOULD HAVE an established policy when a strange new bottle of liquor arrives on one's doorstep. It is like a baby in a basket: Once you bring it into your house, you must watch over it as if it were your own. Work with it carefully and it will thrive, mature, charm your guests and keep you warm in old age. Allow it to mix with the wrong associates and you will end up the central figure in a farfetched melodrama.

當一瓶新奇的酒送到你家門口時，你應當有一個既定的對策。它就像一個放在籃中的嬰兒：一旦你把它帶進屋，你就必須像對待自己的親生孩子那樣照料他。小心翼翼地對待他，他就會茁壯成長、成熟起來、贏得客人的喜愛，並在你年老之時給你帶來溫暖。如果縱容他與糟糕的夥伴混在一起，最終你會成爲一場亂七八糟的的鬧劇的中心人物。

My new guest is a bottle of Génépy des Alpes, which arrived on an otherwise innocent-looking sunny day. As with a baby, I first endeavored to ascertain its origins. Its papers proclaim Génépy des Alpes--which Google Translate helpfully informs me means 'Génépy Alps'; isn't technology grand?--to be a 'legendary alpine herbal liqueur,' which startled me, because I was holding the legendary thing in my hands. Despite the liquor's French pedigree--they mix up the stuff in Chambéry using a hush-hush recipe--the marketing copy provided by one distributor sounds more Californian ('Efforts to brand this style of product have been nothing short of epic'--dude, really?), and the importer's serving suggestions are as flimsy as edelweiss. The liqueur is 'very welcome after a fondue,' the label says, but what isn't welcome after a fondue? 'Serve immediately after very satisfying sex,' it might as well say, 'and enjoy.'

F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal, Styling by Anne Cardenas, Lettering by Angela Southern for The Wall Street Journal我的新客人是一瓶阿爾卑斯蒿酒(Genepy des Alpes)，它是在某個陽光明媚、看上去平和清 的日子裏送到我家的。如同對待一個嬰兒一樣，我首先做的就是設法查明它的出身。它的標籤上印着“Genepy des Alpes”——谷歌翻譯(Google Translate)提供了幫助，告訴我它在英文中的意思是“Genepy Alps”，科技是不是很偉大？標籤上宣稱它是一種“傳奇的阿爾卑斯草本利口酒”，這讓我有些惶恐，因爲我的雙手正捧着這傳奇之物。儘管這款酒源自法國——它是生產商採用一個祕方在尚貝里(Chambery)調製的——一位分銷商提供的宣傳材料聽上去卻更像加州風格（“給此款酒品打品牌的活動簡直就是一次驚人的壯舉”——夥計，你是說真的嗎？），同時進口商的飲用建議則如高山火絨草一般虛幻。標籤上寫着，這款利口酒“在芝士火鍋後享用非常宜人”，但是在吃過芝士火鍋後還有什麼東西會不受人喜愛呢？倒不如這樣說好了，“在令人非常滿足的性愛後立即好好享用。”

I ushered the new arrival out of its things and took a good look at it. Génépy des Alpes is pale green, almost jaundicey, an alarming color for a baby but an alluring one in a shot glass. It has a light, crisp smell, much better than a baby, presumably due to the 'petite and rare variety of artemisia' that the label tells me is 'most prominent' in the taste. It reminded me of Chartreuse, the French liqueur pretentious people drink in novels and pretentious novelists serve to people, so I poured a dose of that into a shot glass and lined them up. They eyed each other like step-siblings. 'We are all family,' I told them. 'My love for you, Chartreuse, will not diminish with this new arrival.' The silence seemed companionable, which I thought was a good start, and so I tried Génépy des Alpes as a substitute for Chartreuse in a Last Word, a cocktail renowned in my household because a) it's weird, b) it's easy to make and c) it gets everyone knackered. I christened this variation the Yodeler, because it's an Alpine Last Word--get it?

我把這位新客人請出來好好端詳了一番。阿爾卑斯蒿酒的色澤爲淡綠色，有些接近黃綠色，這種顏色若出現在嬰兒身上會讓人警惕，但出現在子彈杯中卻是一種誘人的顏色。它的香味淺淡清爽，要比嬰兒好聞多了，這大概是因爲如標籤所示，它的原料包括“一種嬌小而稀有的蒿草”，這種蒿草的味道在它的味道中“非常突出”。它讓我想起了查特酒，小說中的自命不凡之人喜歡品飲、自負的小說家給大家奉上的那種法國利口酒，於是我倒了一點兒查特酒到子彈杯中，然後把兩杯酒並排擺放。它們就像非親手足那樣相互注視着對方。我對它們說道：“我們都是一家人，查特酒，我對你的愛不會因爲這個新成員的到來而減淡。”它們的沉默似乎是友善的，我覺得這是一個很好的開始，所以我以阿爾卑斯蒿酒代替查特酒把它調入了“Last Word”（意爲“好得無以復加的東西”）中。這款雞尾酒在我家很出名，因爲a)它很奇特，b)容易調製而且c)它讓大家都酣暢淋漓。我把加入阿爾卑斯蒿酒的這款酒取名爲“約德爾歌者”(The Yodeler)，因爲它是阿爾卑斯風格的“Last Word”——明白了嗎？

The Yodeler

“約德爾歌者”

¾ ounce Génépy des Alpes

3/4盎司阿爾卑斯蒿酒

¾ ounce lime juice

3/4盎司酸橙汁

¾ ounce maraschino liqueur

3/4盎司黑櫻桃利口酒

¾ ounce Bluecoat (or similar solid but unshowy) gin

3/4盎司Bluecoat（或者同樣純正但不招搖的品牌）杜松子酒

Stir and strain over ice into a glass from which everyone suddenly wants to sip.

攪拌均勻後把酒從冰塊上濾入杯中，每個人都會想要馬上抿上一口這款酒。

In a Yodeler one needs a gin that acts as a wet nurse, nourishing its young charges without exposing itself overmuch. The results, according to a small group of grownups who suddenly gathered round, were quite lively. The Yodeler is less complex than the Last Word, but yodeling, in its way, is less complicated than talking. 'You know what this reminds me of?' asked one of my comrades, who would not like to be identified but nevertheless is novelist Andrew Sean Greer. 'That purple stuff you put in Aviations.'

調製這款雞尾酒，你需要一種充當乳母角色的杜松子酒，它在滋養小東西的同時又不會過度暴露自己。據突然圍到我身邊的那一小羣成年人稱，調出來的酒相當清新爽口。它沒“Last Word”那麼複雜，但是吟唱約德爾調本身就沒說話那麼複雜。我的一位夥伴說道：“你知道它讓我想起了什麼嗎？你調入Aviation（意爲“飛行”）中的那種紫色的東西。”他不願意透露自己的姓名，不過我可以告訴你他是小說家安德魯·肖恩·格里爾(Andrew Sean Greer)。

'Good call, Andrew Sean Greer,' I answered, and quickly mixed up an Aviation with a splash of Génépy des Alpes instead of Crème de Violette, the ingredient that gives the Aviation a curiously 1980s purple hue--too much Crème de Violette and my household changes the name of the drink to the Prince and the Revolution. With Génépy des Alpes, however, we called it the Saint-Exupéry, after the author of 'The Little Prince,' who also flew reconnaissance missions with the French Air Force.

“說得好，安德魯·肖恩·格里爾，”我答道，然後迅速以少許阿爾卑斯蒿酒代替紫羅蘭酒(Creme de Violette)混入一杯Aviation中。紫羅蘭酒會給Aviation賦予一種奇妙的上世紀80年代的紫色調——如果加入的紫羅蘭酒過多，我們家就會把這款雞尾酒改稱爲“The Prince and the Revolution”（意爲“王子和革命”）。不過，以阿爾卑斯蒿酒代替了紫羅蘭酒的話，我們則以《小王子》(The Little Prince)作者的姓 埃克蘇佩裏(Saint-Exupery)來命名這款雞尾酒，這位作家還曾爲法國空軍執行過空中偵察任務。

The Saint-Exupéry

“ 埃克蘇佩裏”

½ ounce lemon juice

1/2盎司檸檬汁

¼ ounce maraschino liqueur, which you already have lying around from the Yodeler

1/4黑櫻桃利口酒，可以用調製“約德爾歌者”剩下的酒

2 ounces Bluecoat gin

兩盎司Bluecoat杜松子酒

Dash of Génépy des Alpes

少許阿爾卑斯蒿酒

Stir and serve to the other guests who have arrived just in time.

攪拌均勻，然後把它端給剛好這時候趕到的其他客人。

'Too strong,' was the verdict, and it was true: The Génépy des Alpes was quite overwhelmed, as if the citrus was an overly boisterous family friend, causing our new adoptee to hide behind the curtains. 'Come on out,' I told the shivering liqueur. 'Let me try you in a Martini.'

大家的評判是：“太濃烈了”，事實確實如此：阿爾卑斯蒿酒在相當程度上被壓制住了，就好像檸檬是一個過分喧鬧的家庭友人，導致我們新收養的孩子藏在了 子後。我對這不停顫抖的利口酒說道：“出來吧，讓我試試把你調入馬提尼當中。”

Introducing a new bottle to unadorned gin is like introducing a stray child to the mistress of the household: If they don't get along, it's not gonna happen. Given Génépy des Alpes's softer, slightly citrusy bouquet, I chose a different gin, the United Kingdom's Sipsmith, which is A.S. Byatt to the American Bluecoat's Toni Morrison: fancier, more flowery and drives on the other side of the road. 'Tastes like 'Possession,' ' raved Mr. Greer after the first sip, and I'm almost positive he meant the celebrated novel and not a demon clutching an innocent soul.

將一種新奇的酒調入 實平淡的杜松子酒就像把一個流浪的孩子介紹給家中的女主人：如果他們相處不好，事情就沒法辦成。考慮到阿爾卑斯蒿酒的香味更柔和且有淡淡的柑橘味，我選擇了一種不同的杜松子酒——英國的Sipsmith杜松子酒，它好比是英國的A.S.拜厄特(A.S. Byatt)，而Bluecoat就像美國的託妮·莫里森(Toni Morrison)：它更奇特、更花哨，而且風格不同。“喝起來像‘佔有’，”格里爾在品了第一口後讚道。我幾乎能確信他說的是那部知名小說《佔有》(Possession)，而不是指一個攫住一個無辜之人的惡魔。

The Byatt

“拜厄特”

1 ounce Génépy des Alpes

一盎司阿爾卑斯蒿酒

3 ounces Sipsmith gin

三盎司Sipsmith杜松子酒

Stir and serve up with a peel from the desiccated lemon still hanging around after the Saint-Exupéry.

攪拌均勻，配上少許檸檬皮，可採用調製“ 埃克蘇佩裏”後留下的變乾的檸檬。

'Not bad,' pronounced the only actual mother in my household, my charming wife, who birthed a child who surely someone remembered to pick up from elementary school. 'But try it in a vodka Martini.'

“還不錯，不過再在伏特加馬提尼中試試吧。”家中唯一真正的母親——我迷人的妻子如是評價。她給我們家誕下了一個孩子，肯定會有人記得把他從小學學校接回來的。

All babies who enter my household are instructed that there is no such thing as a vodka Martini, just as there is no such thing as a just war or a charming child who is awake at 9 p.m. Nonetheless I humored the lady of the house, and thought the adopted child's meek, fruity demeanor might mingle nicely with Core Vodka, which they distill in Valatie, N.Y., from local apples. Hmm, what to name the thing? What else is alpine and fruity?

所有進入我家門的孩子都會被告知沒有伏特加馬提尼這種東西，正如世上不存在正義的戰爭或晚上九點還醒着的惹人喜愛的孩子一樣。儘管如此，我還是遷就了夫人，同時想着這個“養子”柔和而具果味的特性或許能和紐約州韋萊舍(Valatie)用本地蘋果蒸餾製成的Core伏特加很好地融合在一起。嗯，給它取個什麼名字呢？還有什麼是來自阿爾卑斯又具有果香的呢？

The Ricola

“利口樂”(Ricola，譯註：Ricola是瑞士著名的喉糖與薄荷糖品牌)

1 ounce Génépy des Alpes

一盎司阿爾卑斯蒿酒

3 ounces Core Vodka

三盎司Core伏特加

Strain into the waiting arms of my charming wife.

濾入我迷人的妻子張開雙臂拿着的杯子中。

She did not cough while she sipped it, and when she passed it around the results were curiously vanilla, by which I mean not 'sexually tame' but 'actually tasting like vanilla.' 'I like vanilla,' said my wife, unnecessarily exposing herself to ribald mockery, but thank goodness dinner was ready. I had seared some salmon with a gorgonzola crust, not quite fondue but as close as it gets in my house without scrounging around the basement for a long-ago wedding gift. Hastily, I poured a dose of Génépy des Alpes into several flutes and filled the rest with Champagne. Bubbly? French? My DVD player could name this drink itself.

她抿了一小口酒而且沒有嗆咳嗽。她把酒傳給了大家品鑑，衆人的評價是它有一種奇妙的香草味。我的意思不是說“性平淡”（譯註：“香草性愛”(vanilla sex)意爲“平淡的沒有新意的性愛”），而是“品上去真的有香草味”。我妻子說道：“我喜歡香草”，毫無必要地讓自己面臨着遭到粗俗嘲弄的風險，幸虧這時晚飯做好了。我撒了一層戈爾根朱勒乾酪烤了些鮭魚，它不是非常濃稠，但程度接近於走入我的房子而沒有去地下室四處搜尋很久以前的一件結婚禮物。我迅速往幾個高腳杯中倒了些阿爾卑斯蒿酒，然後再在杯中倒滿了香檳。起泡？法式風格？我的DVD播放機能給這款雞尾酒起一個名字。

The Jacques Tati

“賈克·大地”(Jacques Tati，譯註：Jacques Tati爲法國電影導演與演員)

½ ounce Génépy des Alpes

1/2盎司阿爾卑斯蒿酒

Fill with Champagne or sparkling wine and serve to people who are already tipsy.

再在杯中加滿香檳或起泡酒，然後把它端給已經喝得醉醺醺的客人。

'Fruity!' exclaimed the novelist. 'Flowery!' exclaimed the missus. Myself, I was putting the baby to bed. It had been a very busy evening for Génépy des Alpes, and it was all tuckered out. Tomorrow, we would try it in a sidecar (the Citroën?) and with white wine (the Kir Bourgie?), but for now, the bottle needed to go where all my guests end up sooner or later. In the liquor cabinet.

“果香豐富！”小說家驚歎道。夫人則讚道：“花香濃郁！”至於我嘛，我正在安頓這個孩子上牀睡覺。對阿爾卑斯蒿酒來說，這是一個非常忙碌的夜晚，它已經累得筋疲力盡。明天我們將在一輛摩托車邊車（雪鐵龍(Citroen)？）中嘗試把它與白葡萄酒調在一起（Kir Bourgie？）。不過，現在它需要去往我所有的客人遲早都要呆着的地方——酒櫃。

Daneil Handler

Daneil Handler

Mr. Handler is the author of four novels, including, most recently, 'Why We Broke Up,' with illustrator Maira Kalman. As Lemony Snicket he has written the series 'All The Wrong Questions' and 'A Series of Unfortunate Events.'

（本文作者丹尼爾·漢德勒(Daneil Handler)是四部小說的作者，最近一部爲他與插畫家邁拉·卡爾曼(Maira Kalman)合作的《我們爲什麼分手》(Why We Broke Up)。他還以雷蒙·斯尼奇(Lemony Snicket)的筆名創作了《誰是嫌疑人》(All The Wrong Questions)和《雷蒙·斯尼奇的不幸歷險》(A Series of Unfortunate Events)系列小說。）