Gloucester Cocktail

"As flies to wanton boys are we to th' gods. They kill us for their sport." - Earl of Gloucester, Act 4, Scene 1, in King Lear by Shakespeare

In honor of one of my favorite Shakespeare lines, we crafted this ghoulish cocktail for Shakespeare on the green one summer. Gloucester in the play is first emotionally blind to the true nature of his sons, and later, physically blinded as his eyes are gouged out. Not for the faint of heart. 

Nor is this drink for the faint of heart. For the base, make a Manhattan with two parts bourbon, one part sweet vermouth, and several dashes of bitters. To Gloucester it, take a lychee fruit to form the white of the eyeball, then insert half a blueberry to give the iris depth. Use a bamboo skewer to hold it if you think you will be swirling the drink for awhile. Clearly from the picture, this was not an issue with our crew.