in honor of our new president and vice president elect, i present you with the OBAMATINI. this recipe is based off of LAMB MARTINI’S now famous libation, the BARACKTAIL. phil went to the great trouble of creating a drink that called for “native obama ingredients,” such as, pineapple. pineapple comes from hawaii where barack spent much of his childhood. the cardomom-infused vodka is a tip to indonesia, another one of barack’s global stomping grounds, of which we really no so little. i added orange as a salut to leo, barack’s sun sign.

all though barack’s sun is in leo, libra is the president-elect’s rising sign. due to libra’s ascending influence in barack’s natal chart, he portrays himself as a pleasant looking, diplomatic, refined, and cocky (yes i did say this) individual. this libran placement only heightens his innate leoan star power.

however, as i tasted this cocktail, the cardomom flavor far outweighed any other. for that reason, i have listed this particular libation under the rulership of scorpio. the spicy flavor of indonesia’s cardomom makes it an herb of mars, ancient ruler of SCORPIO. ruler of death and rebirth, scorpio will assist in the killing our antiquated ways and help birth a new america. scorpio is the great healer, and the great destroyer… which type of scorpio will obama turn out to be?

in his victory speech, barack stressed that he can’t create change alone. he asked that we prepare to chip in and help rebuild the united states. barack is not a magician, but he has instilled within us magical hopes. thoughts are things, and these should manifest into reality. i think the very first thing we can do to help is to sip this intriguing tipple. cheers to change…

there are a few more obama-inspired cocktails out there… FELICIA’S SPEAK EASY and SACKBEE.

THE OBAMATINI

* 1 oz rye
* 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
* 1 oz pineapple juice (fresh is best) or 2 oz pineapple puree
* 1 oz cardamom vodka
* 1 oz fresh orange juice
* 1 oz homemade grenadine

Shake in a iced cocktail shaker, strain, serve in a cocktail glass. garnish with pomegranate seeds, pineapple wedge or orange twist.

cardomom vodka: add 1c cardomom pods to 750 ml vodka and infuse for about a week. strain and store.

grenadine: add the seeds from 1 pomegranate to 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in sauce pot. Bring to boil, stir and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Strain into final storage container, adding 1 oz vodka as a preservative. Store in fridge.