It’s Friday the 13th and what better drink to have on a day like today than a Black Velvet.
This drink originates way before Prohibition. It’s said that after Prince Albert died in 1861 the steward at the Brook’s Club in London wanted everything in mourning, even the champagne. So we have this half Guinness half champagne creation.
Years later, during Prohibition the Black Velvet was the drink of choice for the Mayor of New York, Jimmy Walker.
Guinness has always been the beer of choice for the health conscious and the Black Velvet is no exception, they said it was a good hangover cure. Other drinks you can justify as being better for you than Coca-Cola, the Half and Half and the Black and Tan.
William Randolph Hearst liked the Half and Half, Guinness and Lager, thinking it was good for your health. Errol Flynn agreed, saying what should have been the Guinness slogan:
Guinness Stout is good for the gonads.
It’s worth noting that Flynn died of a heart attack in the arms of a sixteen year old, his gonads did not give out.
Don’t confuse the Half and Half with a Black and Tan. Half and Half is Guinness and Lager, Black and Tan is Guinness with Ale. And purists would say Black and Tan is Guinness and Bass Ale.
Anyway, without further ado here’s the recipe to the Black Velvet . . . if you please
Ingredients
- ½ champagne flute – Champagne
- ½ champagne flute – Guinness
Instructions:
Pour in half a glass of champagne first, let the bubbles settle and then slowly top up with Guinness. It took us a while to top up, you have to do it slowly so it doesn’t overflow.
It’s honestly pretty good. Smooth as velvet and the aftertaste of champagne was nice. I’ve never had a half and half of Guinness and Hard Cider but I feel like this would be what it tastes like. Also, if you’re having a fancy Halloween party or a Tim Burton soirée, this wouldn’t be a bad drink for the menu.
Further Reading:
I got this recipe from Contraband Cocktails by Paul Dickson – this article is part of an ongoing series of my recreating some of these drinks.
