“Should it sting this much or am I just a baby? - That’s not weed. Yeah, this is oregano.” - An exchange between the Dad Avatar and Mat Sella, Dream Daddy
Inspiration
There’s a particular encounter in Dream Daddy where you the player and Mat Sella attempt to procure marijuana. Instead, you purchase a quantity of oregano and smoke it instead. Mat, the dad who owns and operates the Coffee Spoon, the local coffee spot, is also a bit of a mixologist like myself. He creates pastries and coffee drinks and uses puns inspired by bands and musical groups to name them. I love this guy, so I made my own drink for him and named it as he would.
What resulted was a drink with an oregano-infused botanical spirit combined with espresso and tonic water. For something so absurd, it came out delectably. On the note of the drink’s name, I named Mat’s drink after my favorite Canadian indie rock band: Mother Mother
Workshopping
Coffee Coffee
Instead of using just any old espresso, I produced this cocktail using a rapid method for brewing coffee in a cold and pressurized way. This method uses an iSi whipper with nitrogen charges. Adding water and ground coffee to the whipper and charging it with nitrogen effectively makes espresso due to the pressure induced within the whipper. If you want to try this for yourself, add 5 parts water to 1 part coarse-ground coffee to an iSi whipper and charge with one N2O charge. If your whipper holds half a liter like mine, try this recipe:
To a 0.5 liter iSi whipper add 72 grams of coarse-ground coffee and 12 oz (355 ml) of water
Seal the whipper and charge with one canister of N2O
Shake vigorously and let sit until ready to use (or if you’ll be a while, leave to infuse in a refrigerator, not a freezer)
When ready, hold upright and slowly release the pressure. I recommend holding a cup overtop of the spout just in case you release any liquid
When no more air escapes, open the whipper and pour the contents of the whipper over a coffee filter
Oregano Oregano
I had a hard time finding any reference to an oregano and spirit infusion so I took a plunge into my reference material for inspiration. Flipping through the pages of the Flavor Matrix book I was able to find two flavor categories that share a high similarity to origanum (oregano). My metric for ‘high similarity’ was any flavor that had origanum listed above a 50%. The list below first shows the flavor, then the similarity to oregano, and finally the similarity to coffee.
Mushroom - 70% Oregano, 40% Coffee
Citrus - 67% Oregano, 16% Coffee
Ginger - 49% Oregano, ~% Coffee (not listed)
Lead by science I searched for any other affinities for mushrooms and for citrus (the top two similarities). I sourced chaga, a rough and often dried fungus that can be brewed into a coffee-like beverage. The flavor was deep and earthy and would make for a great infusion, however, the particular coffee I was using was more fruity with notes of cinnamon. The combination with the chaga didn’t sit well this time.
I’ll note that along my journey I found that some of my fellow cocktail mixers have used mushrooms in simple syrup (@sincitybartender - YouTube) and also in vermouth (@home_sweet_spirits - Instagram).
Of note too is the presence of a close relative of oregano in various vermouths, bitters and herbal liqueurs. According to The Drunken Botanist, Dittany of Crete, is used in such a way.
Tonic Tonic
I’m already familiar with the combination of espresso and tonic and since oregano shares a likeness to citrus, I figured we could marry the gin & tonic and espresso tonic with a bit of everyone’s favorite pizza spice. I created two oregano-infused gins, one with untoasted oregano and one with toasted oregano. I tried the recipe below with both infused gins, and the toasted one not only tasted better but also fit the theme more closely (since the oregano in Dream Daddy was inadvertently burned and inhaled).
Flavor Analysis
Bitter and tart with floral and earthy undertones. This drink has just enough sweetness to go up against the bitter flavors of the espresso, tonic, and oregano. Effervescence carries a tingling flavor of lemon from the underlying tonic and a hint of toastiness from the oregano-infused gin. You can taste every component with no one overpowering the other.
Mat's Father Father
Mat's Father Father
- 1 oz (30 ml) Toasted Oregano-Infused Gin
- 2 oz (59 ml) Espresso/Coffee
- Top with Tonic Water
Method: Build over Ice
Garnish: Half-Rim of Oregano/Lemon Juice
Notes: The name is a reference to my favorite Canadian rock band
More drinks inspired by: Dream Daddy
Guided Recipe in 60 Seconds: YouTube
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