Neyshabur Vesper
For Omar Khayyam, poet of the wine cup.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | ml | oz |
|---|---|---|
| Gin | 45 ml | 1½ oz |
| Vodka | 15 ml | ½ oz |
| Lillet Blanc | 15 ml | ½ oz |
| Saffron infusion · homemade, P14 | 5 ml | 1 tsp |
| Culinary rose water | 1 drop |
Ounces are rounded; measure in ml for accuracy. Homemade items link to their own page.
chilled coupe
stirred with ice, served up
lemon peel, expressed
The story
Neyshabur, in the heart of Khorasan, is the city of Omar Khayyam, the eleventh-century astronomer and mathematician whose quatrains about the passing of time, the turning of the heavens and the pleasure of the wine cup became some of the most translated poems in the world. His tomb stands in a garden there, among the rose bushes. This drink is built on gin, vodka and an aromatized wine, and gives it Khayyam’s two companions: saffron from the surrounding fields and a single drop of rose.
Method
- Chill the coupe.
- Stir all ingredients with ice for 25 seconds.
- Strain into the coupe.
- Express the lemon peel over the top and perch it on the rim.
How it tastes
Crisp and elegant. Lillet adds a soft honeyed fruit, saffron gives depth and color, and the rose is just a fleeting scent as you raise the glass.
Persian taste: talkh-shirin (bittersweet)
Pair it with
- Food: Persian cucumbers with salt and dried mint, and a few marinated olives.
- Sweet: Nan-e nokhodchi, the tiny clover-shaped chickpea-flour cookies scented with cardamom.
- Snack: Chaghaleh badoom, green almonds with salt, in spring; salted almonds otherwise
Variations
Without rose
Leave out the rose water for a purer saffron glass.
All gin
60 ml gin, no vodka. More botanical and assertive.
Balancing tips
- One drop of rose water is enough; two can turn it perfumey.
- Keep Lillet refrigerated after opening; it fades within weeks.
Allergens
- Sulfites (aromatized wine)
- Contains alcohol. Please drink responsibly.
Development notes
- Status: draft recipe, not yet taste-tested.
- Start without any extra syrup; taste before considering sweetness.
Watch it mixed
Follow along
Steps light up as the animation plays. Tap a step to jump to it.
Heads-up: this animation was rendered from an earlier draft, so the amounts on screen differ slightly. Follow the ingredient table above.
Khorasan (Neyshabur), imagined
