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THE EXOTIC DRINKING BOOK
Actually we do
think
pousse cafes
have been slightly diverted from
their original coffee-pushing intent, for if anyone can imagine follow–
ing a good demitasse of strong black Mocha with half a dozen sweet
cordials roosting on the yolk of an egg, we pass! ... Some of these
affairs may seem to have rather strange names but, like many other
things which have gained recognition through the usage of years, we
feel it only the stout thing to do to write them as they are called, and
not drop the modest lash to hide our possible blushes.
WORDS to the LIQUID WISE No. XV, on the NUMBER of
RINGS in a
POUSSE
CAFE
For reasons known only to barkeeps and their ancient patrons, a
proper
pousse caf
e
should contain seven,. five, or three, contrasting
rings of different coloured liqueurs. Just why these numerals are
sacred we have never quite learned-any more than why seven and
eleven count profitably on the first roll of dice, or why folk like Haile
Selassie had three-decker parasols. .
•
The liqueurs are poured in ever so carefully with a spoon, and sit
each on top of the next, unmixed, brilliant each
in
its own right. The
successive sips give varying taste thrills.
ONE CAUTIONING TALE about the GENTLE but UNSAFE AMA–
TEUR
ART
of
BREEDING
POUSSE CAPES
We first got this idea in Spofford's big bungalow out in Ballygunge,
Calcutta, one pre-monsoon evening in
1926.
A tremendous Bengali
curry, then coffee on the terrace under the low, hot stars, talking over
college days, friends here and there, impending marriage, birth, death,
while big bats the size of kittens shuttled back and forth over the level
green of the tennis court. . . . Then the idea, we would get every
cordial and liqueur in the place, and brew bigger and better
pousse
ca/es-and
each time one went bad-mixed up hopelessly instead of
remaining in distinct jewel-sharp layers, the culprit responsible had
to toss it off bottoms up. When a successful one was brewed with five
layers or more, the result was shared.
To be exact this whole affair is a matter of precise specific gravities