Name: Death Spasm Cocktail
Prep time: 2 min
Total time: 2 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: Alcohol
Ingredients: 1 ounce of absinthe; 4.5 ounces of pink champagne or sparkling wine

Jump to Recipe

Creating original drinks is not something I aspire to on a grand scale; I just keep pouring stuff into cups until it tastes good, you know? This Death Spasm cocktail recipe does happen to be an original, even though you may have heard of it before!

The movie Cocktail came out when I was a few weeks shy of a year old. I don’t bring it up because it’s worth watching; if you’re going to watch a movie from 30 years ago I have PLENTY of others to recommend. However, there’s one scene where Tom Cruise delivers the Last Barman’s Poem, and he mentions a very intriguing drink called the Death Spasm.

When I tried to look up the recipe for Death Spasm, I was shocked to find that it does not exist. Even after 30 years of being mentioned to a rather wide audience, it appears a standard recipe has yet to be created. So I decided to try and make one for myself! I wanted something original, flavorful, and potent to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

Starting with Inspiration

Since I’m not an expert mixologist, I looked to the internet for some help designing this drink. I came across a drink made famous by Ernest Hemingway back in the 1930s that shares a name with one of his books: the Death in the Afternoon cocktail.

death in the afternoon cocktail — Death in the Afternoon, Tipsy Bartender

The drink has exactly two ingredients: absinthe and champagne. Very simple, and powerful enough to get you hosed if you drink it too quickly. It sounded like a great starting point to me! Champagne is the queen of New Year’s Eve alcohol, making it a perfect ingredient for a celebratory cocktail.

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Mommin’ it Up

In modifying Death in the Afternoon to become the mom-approved Death Spasm cocktail, I decided to swap the champagne for some sparkling pink moscato (the super-girly, super-basic version of champagne) and threw in a sugar cube as well.

For one thing, I love love love pink moscato wine, so I was excited to use the sparkling version. As for the sugar cube, it seemed like a no-brainer once I did my research. Absinthe is traditionally prepared with ice-cold water poured over a sugar cube resting on a slotted spoon over the pre-poured glass. Plus, a champagne cocktail is simply a flute of champagne with a sugar cube added. So, sugar cube it was!

Now, I’m not rich and fancy. My champagne glasses came from Goodwill, I think, back when I first got married. (YOU can get a really nice set of classic champagne flutes, though.) When I sent Josh to the liquor store for my ingredients, I told him to get the cheapest absinthe they had (which still came out to $35 – so if you decide to try this recipe, be prepared for a decent price tag). That turned out to be Mephisto Absinthe, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised with the taste.

The Birth of the Death Spasm Cocktail

My husband and I both enjoyed an inaugural Death Spasm cocktail, and I have to tell you, he was SO excited. He’d never tried absinthe before and was happy to help me with a taste test.

We essentially assembled the drink just like Hemingway’s. I started by pouring a jigger (one ounce) of absinthe in a champagne flute. The faded green hue of the Mephisto is very enticing.

I then topped the flute with some chilled Andre’s Sparkling Pink Moscato. The pale pink and green combined created a nice, rosy hue.

The final touch was to drop a sugar cube into the flute. It immediately began to effervesce, giving the drink a little bit of a fun factor.

There you have it! My original Death Spasm cocktail.

Death Spasm Flavor

This cocktail definitely isn’t too bitter, but far from too sweet. It’s a strong drink. Mephisto is 130 proof (65% alcohol), so you could easily cut it down to half an ounce of absinthe and still have a tasty, buzz-inducing cocktail. The flavor is best if you finish it before the bubbles have dissipated.

Be careful, though! If you try to finish this in a few minutes, you’re probably going to get knocked on your butt. Just keep your pink champagne as chilled as possible before serving to give you more time before it gets to room temperature. Don’t freeze it, though – that’ll kill off your bubbles, and that’s half the fun!

Absinthe should never be refrigerated or frozen because it’ll change the composition, so just keep it in a cool dark place (ours is in the back corner of our kitchen counter not near a window).

Sugar not dissolving in your cocktail? Using organic sugar cubes may help speed up the dissolving process because they’re more loosely packed. You can get some highly-rated kosher- and vegan-friendly sugar cubes here! It’s not required that the cube fully dissolve before you finish your drink, but if you’d like to help it along, feel free to give it a stir.

Death Spasm Cocktail Recipe Card

1 cocktail