Papageno

A dessert drink for chocolate lovers that gets its zing from Strega, white rum and the olfactory use of peppermint.

70 ml Mozart white chocolate liqueur
25 ml Strega
15 ml Wray & Nephew white overproof rum

Preparation: Stirred, serve over ice and garnished with a mint stalk.

The Papageno was created in 2006 at Le Lion in Hamburg by Gonçalo de Sousa Monteiro. It is named after Papageno, a character from Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute”, as the main ingredient, Mozart white chocolate liqueur, is also named after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The opera has fairy-tale elements, and the Italian Strega-Liqueur used also refers to the fairy-tale world with its name, because translated “strega” means “witch”. The bird catcher Papageno with his plumage can therefore serve as a symbol for these fairy-tale elements. ^[1]

However, it seems that the Papageno was created earlier, at the Victoria Bar, because Gonçalo de Sousa Monteiro states: “The Papageno was created in 2006 at the Victoria Bar. When Le Lion opened, I tried to offer every flavour on the menu. Among them were digestifs. With the launch of Mozart chocolate liqueurs in the mid-noughties, we bartenders got opportunities to think about alternatives to Golden Cadillacs and Alexanders.” ^[4]

– “Der Papageno entstand 2006 in der Victoria Bar. Zur Eröffnung des Le Lion war ich bemüht, jegliche Geschmacksrichtungen auf dem Menü anzubieten. Darunter auch Digestifs. Mit der Markteinführung der Mozart Schokoladenliköre Mitte der Nullerjahre bekamen wir Bartender Möglichkeiten, uns Gedanken über Alternativen zu Golden Cadillacs und Alexanders zu machen.” ^[4]

Like Jörg Meyer, we prefer this drink prepared with a little more strega for the sake of added herbaceousness. ^[3]

Sources

1. E-Mail of Gerd Berger from Buck & Breck, the Bar of Gonçalo de Sousa Monteiro, from 4. January 2017.
2. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Papageno.jpg: Emanuel Schikaneder als der erste Papageno. Aus dem Titelblatt der Erstausgabe des Librettos der Zauberflöte.
3. http://www.jrgmyr.com/2012/07/papageno-der-vergessene-beruf-des.html: “Der Papageno” , der vergessene Beruf des Barkellners und das Löwen Rezept Tool EVERNOTE. By Jörg Meyer, 12. July 2012.
4. https://mixology.eu/papageno-cocktail/ Philipp Gaux: Ein schräger, seltener Vogel: Der Papageno Cocktail. 24. November 2021.

Recipes

2012 Jörg Meyer auf http://www.jrgmyr.com/2012/07/papageno-der-vergessene-beruf-des.html. Papageno. 1 cl Wray & Nephew Overproof, 5 cl Mozart White, 1,5 cl Strega. geschüttelt, im Tumbler, mit Minze garniert. Gonçalo de Sousa Monteiro.

2017 Gerd Berger in einem E-Mail aus dem Buck & Breck vom 4. Januar 2017. Papageno. 40 ml White Chocolate, 15 ml Strega, 10 ml White Overproof Rum.

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