If Tom Jones and Jack White can cover Howlin’ Wolf, why can’t I mix gin and rum?  I’m GONNA.  You can’t stop me.

White Lily

1 oz white rum
1 oz Hendrick’s gin
1 oz Cointreau
absinthe

Stir the gin, rum, and Cointreau with ice.  Wash a cocktail glass with absinthe, and strain.  Think about how Tom Jones makes Wayne Newton look like the front man for a cheap bar mitzvah band.  Belt out some “What’s New Pussycat”.  Leave your hat on.  Think about what would happen if Tom Jones got together with Tom Waits.  Hear yourself saying “Whoa.”

This isn’t my creation.  I don’t remember where we got it – it goes back a ways.  It was one of our first cocktail adventures.  If you have a scantily stocked bar, it’s a fine one to start with, if you’re fond of the herbal notes of Hendrick’s.  The absinthe really ties it together, but you could leave it out in a pinch.  Wait until you can afford a decent bottle of the stuff – cheap absinthe will make you sad in the pants.  And the stomach.