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On the Rocks: Marie Curie All

The safest way to drink radium is not to – and that’s exactly what this month’s Marie Curie All cocktail is all about.

While that seems obvious to us now, one hundred years ago the United States was overtaken by a radium craze. From medicines to makeup, performance art to packaging, people couldn’t get enough of this luminous substance. Today, you can still find antiques that irradiate, whether or not they maintain that iconic glow.

The fad was inspired in part by Nobel Laureate and scientist Marie Curie’s 1921 U.S. fundraising tour for her Radium Institute. Flashing vials of radium in solution was a favorite science communication method of Marie and Pierre Curie, who discovered the radioactive elements polonium and radium in 1898. 

Radium, the most radioactive of all naturally occurring elements, showed great potential for unlocking the secrets of the atom. The scientific potential of their discovery did not stifle the timeless magic of good lighting; Marie described the duos’ lab looking as if it was full of “fairy lights” and took to sleeping with a vial of radium chloride’s soft blue glow at her bedside table. (for an up close and personal look at the scientists lives’, check out Lauren Redniss’ Radioactive). Refusing to patent any of their work, the Curies were especially excited about radium’s potential humanitarian applications, such as it’s capacity to kill off diseased tissue.

Of course, it also kills healthy tissue. Most famously, bodies of the watch dial painters at U.S. Radium Corporation starting around 1917. These Radium Girls were told that the “Undark” paint they used, a mixture of radium powder, zinc sulphide, and other elements, was safe. Even while their managers and scientists took various precautions, they encouraged their workforce to lick the end of the paint brushes for sharper lines. After a great deal of suffering and gaslighting, from radium rotted jaws to broken hips to doctors blaming their illnesses on syphilis, five of these women settled a lawsuit against US Radium in 1928. While too late to save them from radiation sickness, this case and it’s publicity helped inspire government initiatives for worker and consumer protections.

To carefully carry forward that soft green glow associated with commercial radium products as well as the Curie’s commitment to healthcare, this twist on a classic tropical cocktail avoids radiation AND includes an essential vitamin. Riboflavin, also called vitamin B2, fluoresces yellow under black light (a feature which today’s scientists are exploring as a safer way to track the spread of respiratory diseases).

Carefully mixed with blue curaçao, we get a fluorescent green to brighten, or perhaps Undark, your next spooky season happy hour.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 oz light rum
  • 1 oz blue curaçao liqueur
  • .5 oz ginger liqueur
  • 2 oz pineapple juice
  • .5 oz lemon juice
  • .5 oz orange juice
  • 1 oz cream of coconut
  • Pinch vitamin B2*

Recipe

  1. Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker full of ice.
  2. Adjust B2 for color preference – a ratio of ¼ of a 100 mg supplement per 1 oz blue curacao keeps things softly green. 
  3. Pour in a tall glass, tiki or tom collins style, and garnish with pineapple wedge and cherries. 

*According to the NIH, “Intakes of riboflavin from food that are many times the RDA have no observable toxicity, possibly because riboflavin’s solubility and capacity to be absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract are limited . . . The limited data available on riboflavin’s adverse effects do not mean, however, that high intakes have no adverse effects, and the FNB urges people to be cautious about consuming excessive amounts of riboflavin [3].”

Explore minerals that can kill in our Rockin’ Pop Up and be sure to join us for this year’s Museum of the Macabre where we’ll explore deadly plants, potions, and poisons.

On the Rocks: The Paleontologist’s Paradise

A layered cocktail in a highball glass

This month join us in raising a glass to the field of paleontology (the study of fossils) as we explore geologic time through a layered drink in one of our favorite glasses.

The history of life on earth is measured in millions of years, and humans are only a tiny blip in that long history. While geologic time can be a hard concept to wrap your mind around, people like Aristotle (384–322 BCE) first noticed the presence of fossil shells on land and concluded that the shape of the earth’s surface must have changed over time. Early scholars from across the world also made observations about the layering of rocks, and in 1669 the Danish scholar Steno proposed the Law of Superposition, a key concept to the earth sciences which generally states that stratigraphic layers on the bottom of a sequence will be older than those layered on top of them.

These concepts were the building blocks for the geologic time scale as we know it today. The geologic time scale is broken down into four large eons and each eon is then further broken down into eras, which are in turn divided into periods, epochs and ages. Today, we are living in the Holocene Epoch, going back 11,700 years ago it generally marks the end of the last ice age. The Holocene is also referred to as the Anthropogene, the “Age of Man” as of all recorded human history falls in this time period and it acknowledges the huge impact we have had on the earth.

Explore more about geologic time with videos from our Geology Gents and peruse our Guide to Local Fossil if you want to dig even deeper.

Layered drinks such as this one are both eye-catching and a fun way to experiment with the density of liquids. The force of buoyancy keeps the various layers from mixing as long as you are using liquids with different densities and build your drink with the heavier liquids at the bottom. Explore this resource for the relative densities of various liqueurs for your future cocktail creations.

Ingredients

0.5 oz. Grenadine or other syrup of your choice
1.5 oz. Coconut rum
1 oz. Dark rum
0.5 c. Juice (pineapple or other tropical flavor)
Ice

Recipe

  1. Pour the grenadine into the bottom of your glass.
  2. Fill the glass to the top with ice, trying not to splash the grenadine.
  3. Mix your juice with the coconut rum. Slowly pour over the ice so that the force doesn’t cause it to mix with the grenadine.
  4. Top with carefully poured dark rum.
  5. Garnish with the citrus of your choice.

Alternatives

  1. Substitute the dark rum for blue curacao for a more eye-catching color combination.
  2. For a non-alcoholic option, leave out the rum and experiment with the density of other additives like soda water or coconut cream.

Post by Liz Broughton

On the Rocks: Juneteenth Sorrel Spritz

For this month’s curated cocktail, we’re celebrating how culinary traditions represent one of our most fundamental relationships with the natural world.

The Sorrel Spritz is inspired by Juneteenth, the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States, a holiday that is receiving more attention as an increasing number of institutions strive to acknowledge the contributions of Black American history and culture.

The holiday hails from June 19, 1865 — the day that Union troops announced to slaves in the remote Confederate state of Texas that the Emancipation Proclamation had technically freed them two years prior. While formerly enslaved folks still faced violence, forced labor, and other challenges, celebrations persisted and “June” and “19th” ultimately merged to become today’s Juneteenth.

Juneteenth celebrations take many forms, but commonly feature readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, parades, and lots of delicious food and drink. Crimson colored treats like red velvet and red colored punch are a staple. In her exploration of the origins of this tradition, Christina Ayele Djossa points to the longstanding use of the hibiscus plant for making tea in West Africa as a forerunner of these beverages.

Hibiscus sabdariffa, also called Roselle, is a flowering plant in Malvacaea, nicknamed the mallow or hibiscus family. Usually yellow flowering, it is the fleshy red calyx, a protective structure at the base of the flower, that is boiled for making hibiscus tea. Indigenous to Africa but now found throughout the world, its bright tangy flavor and rich red color make it a favorite in food traditions in the African Diaspora and beyond (for example, Jamaica aguas frescas).  

The Sorrel Spritz is based on a Jamaican Christmas punch that combines the delightful tartness of the hibiscus with the warming tones of cinnamon and cloves, and is then brightened up with some blood orange soda. The name “sorrel” comes from the Jamaican word for this plant, not to be confused with the leafy green herb.

Recipe

  • Boil one ounce hibiscus, four cloves, and one cinnamon stick in 1 ⅓ c water
  • Let sit for at least one hour
  • At this point you can drink this non-alcoholic version by itself, adding simple syrup and citrus to taste
  • For an alcoholic version, combine ¼ c hibiscus base, ¼ c rum, tablespoon of simple syrup, and teaspoon of lime juice with ice
  • Shake
  • Top with blood orange soda to taste
  • Garnish with orange wedge

On the Rocks: The Equinox Elixir

This recipe is part of our series On the Rocks: Exploring Science and Nature through Curated Cocktails.

The vernal equinox marks one of two moments per year when the sun is exactly above the equator and day and night are of equal length. This means that we exit the days of mostly darkness and enter a time of increasing light.

Spring is traditionally a season of transition and new birth: snow melts, seeds grow, and blossoms bloom. This year, the vernal equinox that marks the beginning of spring also represents one year since we began sheltering-in-place. Four seasons have passed and our community has experienced the ebb and flow of the pandemic in tandem with the natural cycles of the Earth.

As we prepare for this next transition, welcoming new growth in fire scarred areas and fresh nectar in our gardens, we also look forward to our own revitalization. The Museum is excited to reopen our doors this spring and host more programs outdoors and in nature than ever before. But we continue to straddle the line of branching out and keeping shelter as our community continues to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to in-person opportunities, we will continue to offer virtual resources that bring the Museum to you.

And it is with this period of transition in mind that we bring you the Equinox Elixir: a curated cocktail that is equal parts dark and light. We used gin from Venus Spirits for this recipe, a local distillery that sponsored an event we were meant to host last year for the equinox, but had to cancel in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Today, we toast them and you as we prepare for brighter days ahead.

Ingredients

  • 1.5 oz of Venus Gin No. 01
  • 1.5 oz of cherry syrup (such as from a jar of Luxardo cherries)
The Equinox Elixir once mixed, combining the tart sweetness of the cherry syrup with the fresh botanical quality of Venus’s Gin No. 1.

Recipe

A layered cocktail utilizes liqueurs of slightly different densities to create visual layers in the drink, with the specific gravity of the liquid ingredients increasing from top to bottom. Water has a specific gravity of 1.0, whereas our thick syrup has a specific gravity of 1.8 and our gin is around .95.

Pour your ingredient with the higher specific gravity first (i.e. cherry syrup) into a martini glass, taking care to pour straight down the center so that the syrup doesn’t coat the walls of the glass where you don’t want it to. Then, shake your gin with an ice cub in a cocktail shaker vigorously for a few seconds. Turn a tablespoon upside down and place it just over the glass. Slowly pour the gin over the spoon so that it slowly spills into the glass without mixing with the syrup.

Marvel at its dichotomy and then give it a stir to mix the flavors together and enjoy!

Resources for further exploring the equinox

Post by Marisa Gomez


Explore more Curated Cocktails

On the Rocks: The Beekeeper’s Hot Toddy

This recipe is part of our series On the Rocks: Exploring Science and Nature through Curated Cocktails.

As winter temperatures drop below 50 °F, honey bees (Apis mellifera) will cluster in their hives in a bid to stay warm. In preparation for the winter, bees have to ensure that they have a sufficient supply of honey stored in their combs to see them through the long months when food sources are scarce. Honey is produced after bees ingest nectar from plants and then regurgitate it. This process leads to a product that is naturally sweet and easy to preserve.

Much like honey bees in their hives, we humans can also appreciate staying in our homes to keep warm on a cold winter’s night, perhaps enhanced with a fortifying beverage. Hot toddies are traditionally a way to consume liquor that is warmed with hot water, honey and other spices. This particular recipe evokes an especially smoky flavor, reminiscent of beekeepers using smoke to calm their bees as they work on hives.

The flavor of honey can vary depending on which flowers bees have been collecting nectar from. Try different honeys from your local farmers market or grocery stores to enjoy subtle differences in your toddy recipes.


Ingredients

  • 4 cups hot water
  • 4 bags of black tea (try something like lapsang souchong for extra smoke flavor)
  • 3 slices of lemon (save one for a garnish)
  • Juice of 1 lemon (2 tbsp)
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 5-10 cloves
  • 5-10 Black peppercorns
  • 2-4 tbsp honey (adjust depending upon how sweet you prefer it)
  • A smoky liquor like scotch or mezcal

Serving size: 2-4 drinks depending upon the size of your mugs.


Instructions

Put your water in a saucepan with the cinnamon sticks, and two lemon slices with cloves and peppercorns inserted into them (alternatively, put your spices in cheesecloth if you don’t want to strain them out later). Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes to allow the spices to diffuse. Bring your pan off of the heat and add in the honey, lemon juice and tea bags. Make sure the honey dissolves completely and allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes. Serve in a mug with 1.5-2 oz. of an alcohol of your choice or leave it out for a cozy non-alcoholic option. Use cinnamon sticks and a lemon slice for garnish.

Want a version with more kick? Substitute the peppercorns for cayenne or steep a hot pepper in your water.

Post by Liz Broughton


Explore more Curated Cocktails

On the Rocks: The Solstice Sip

This recipe is part of our series On the Rocks: Exploring Science and Nature through Curated Cocktails.

A cocktail in a jar garnished with a sprig of incence cedar leaves in front of a decorated tree.

The winter solstice in the northern hemisphere marks the moment when the northern pole of the Earth’s axis is directed farthest from the sun. There is more darkness on this day than any other, but there is also the promise of new light.

As our region hunkers down into a new Stay-at-Home order, we invite you to cozy up with this Solstice Sip. Powered by the evergreen qualities of the conifers around you, whether from a neighborhood redwood tree or a douglas fir you’ve recently brought inside and covered in twinkle lights, this classic twist on an old fashioned will remind you of the light to come and the light that still flickers, even in these dark times.


**The example shown here features incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) harvested from a Christmas tree, but other options readily available in Santa Cruz are coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). The fresher the growth of the sprigs, the richer the flavor. Make sure to properly identify your tree before harvesting because some coniferous may be toxic if ingested (i.e. ponderosa pine or pacific yew).

Ingredients

Evergreen Simple Syrup:

  • A few sprigs from a conifer** (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 cup of sugar

The Solstice Sip cocktail:

  • 1 1/2 oz Bourbon or Rye whiskey
  • 1 tsp Evergreen Simple Syrup
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Instructions

To make the Evergreen Simple Syrup:

  1. Add water, sugar, and conifer sprigs to a small pot and heat over low for 15 minutes.
  2. Remove from heat and let sit for another 15 minutes.
  3. Strain out sprigs and store in a jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

To make the Solstice Sip cocktail:

  1. Combine simple syrup and bitters in a glass.
  2. Fill glass halfway with ice, then stir about a dozen times.
  3. Add more ice, enough to fill the glass.
  4. Add whiskey.
  5. Stir just until cold, about a dozen times.
  6. Garnish with a sprig of your chosen conifer.

Post by Marisa Gomez


Explore more Curated Cocktails

On the Rocks: Pumpkin Pie Tai

Pumpkin pie tai cocktail in a glass

This recipe is part of our series On the Rocks: Exploring Science and Nature through Curated Cocktails.

Autumn is a season of transitions. Darkness noticeably overtakes light more rapidly everyday and months of drought along the Central Coast of California are dampened by the first rains of the season.

There is also a last minute abundance of activity in preparation for shorter, wetter days. Manzanita berries, tan oak acorns, and pine seeds are accompanied by a flurry of wildlife in active pursuit of additions to caches and fat reserves. Buffleheads and goldeneyes return to the river, while the terns and shearwaters leave the Bay. The bigleaf maple becomes a cloud of gold and the conifers remain ever green.

While spring reminds us of rejuvenation, fall recalls the dormancy of nature. Yet in the darkness, the promises of spring ruminate. Seeds that dropped days and months ago rest, wait, and are protected by the soil. As the sun retreats and the fruits fall and the collectors gather their winter rations, each minute of daylight is more precious than the last.

In a spirit of gratitude we offer the following recipe in celebration of abundance, even as the world around us grows darker. So gather up your fall gourds, your squash, your pumpkins. Stew the flesh, plant the seeds, and save a little for this tasty treat.

Ingredients

Pumpkin Seed Simple Syrup:

  • ½ cup of pumpkin seeds
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 cup of sugar

Pumpkin Pie Tai:

  • ¾ oz pumpkin seed simple syrup
  • 2 oz dark rum
  • ¼ oz allspice dram (or just add some ground allspice)
  • ¾ oz lime
  • 3 tbsp pumpkin puree
  • 1 cup ice

Instructions

To make the Pumpkin Seed Simple Syrup:

  1. Gather seeds from your chosen squash, gourd, or pumpkin (at least ½ cup)
  2. Rinse and dry the seeds
  3. Remove seeds from shells by trimming the edges of the shells with scissors and popping out the seed from within (optional, and interesting!)
  4. Grind ½ cup of seeds in a blender until a powdery consistency
  5. Add 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to blender and mix until smooth
  6. Strain through a coffee filter into a jar. Note: This can take awhile! Just let it sit and do it’s thing. You can also use cheesecloth.
  7. Good for a few weeks in the refrigerator

To make the Pumpkin Pie Tai:

  1. Combine all ingredients
  2. Blend until smooth
  3. Serve over ice
  4. Garnish with your favorite fall spice

Post by Marisa Gomez

On the Rocks: Foraged Liqueur

This recipe is part of our series On the Rocks: Exploring Science and Nature through Curated Cocktails.

During summer months and into early fall, California’s native berry-producing plants provide humans and wildlife alike with a delicious source of nutrients.

[Gathering fruit] required an intimate familiarity with nature and natural patterns. … Indians watched the other animals and linked their behaviors with the ripening of the fruit. Goldfinches, for example, would begin to whistle more frequently when it was time for the Foothills Yokuts to gather blackberries. Keeping a close watch on weather patterns was also important. For example, rosehips…tasted sweetest after the first light frost or cold nights of fall. The Karuk harvested California huckleberries after the first frost because that was when they were sweetest.

Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural Resources by Kat Anderson, 2005

While there are many edible uses for our native berry varieties, a few species are particularly useful for making liqueurs to add a little local flavor to your cocktail game. Our favorites are California blackberry (Rubus ursinus), pink flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum), and blue elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp. cerulea). Explore our foraging guide before you go out on the hunt and then try your hand at making your own liqueur with our recipe (below).

Foraging Ethics

Before you forage from natural landscapes, it’s important to Know Before You Go. Research the rules and regulations for the landscapes you hope to explore, study the species you may find, and be prepared to identify them accurately. Once you identify the species you would like to forage and you are confident that you are legally allowed to, consider how to do so in a way that does not cause harm. Only take what you will use and leave enough for wildlife.

Biologist of Potawatomi heritage Robin Wall Kimmerer provides an excellent blueprint for ethical foraging based on the indigenous principles of the Honorable Harvest:

Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them.
Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life. Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer.
Never take the first. Never take the last. Take only what you need.
Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken. Share.
Give thanks for what you have been given.
Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken.
Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings by Robin Wall Kimmerer, 2013

Species and Seasons

Here’s when you are likely to find ripe fruit for the three native species you can use in our liqueur recipe:

Blue elderberry (Sambucus nigra ssp. cerulea): July and August
Pink flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum): July and August
California blackberry (Rubus ursinus): April through September


Liqueur Recipe

elderberry liqueur

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1 cup vodka
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup ripe berries

Instructions

  1. Shake together the water, vodka, and sugar to dissolve sugar.
  2. Gently mix together with the berries.
  3. Leave to infuse about 10-12 days until the berries have lost most of their color.
  4. Pour through a fine strainer and discard the berries.
  5. Pour into bottle of your choice to use for months to come!

Make a Macabre Martini with your liqueur!

On the Rocks: The Macabre Martini

This recipe is part of our series On the Rocks: Exploring Science and Nature through Curated Cocktails.

In works of art, macabre refers to a grim or ghastly atmosphere. At the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, it heralds a season of oddities — when we turn our attention to the nooks and crannies of nature, looking for the strange, the puzzling, and the disturbing.

In honor of our annual event of creatures, curiosities, and cocktails, Museum of the Macabre, we’re mixing things up with a special concoction to give you pause — and we mean that! This cocktail requires some toil and trouble, but it’s well worth it in the end.

The Macabre Martini is a mysterious mixture, obscured by the darkness of a homemade sesame syrup. Another way to reach this deep black color is with activated charcoal, though you should look into the risks if you are on any medications.

Looking to add a little local flora to your cup? Substitute the crème de mûre with a homemade blackberry, elderberry, or black currant liqueur.

A black liquid in a martini glass lined with a black sesame seed rim.

Ingredients

Macabre Martini:

  • 1 oz gin
  • 2 oz crème de mûre (or homemade berry liqueur)
  • 2 oz black sesame syrup (see below for instructions)
  • 1 oz lime juice
  • 1 large egg white
  • Blackberries for garnish

Black sesame syrup:

  • 1 cup black sesame seeds
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup water (or more as needed)
  • zest of half a lime
  • 2 oz vodka

Instructions

To make the black sesame syrup:

  1. Toast the black sesame seeds in a saucepan over medium heat for about 2 minutes while constantly moving them around in the pan. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
  2. Blend the seeds in a food processor, coffee grinder, or blender until they are a powder and set aside.
  3. Put the sugar, water, and lime zest in a small saucepan and bring to a low simmer, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. 
  4. Add the black sesame seed powder and bring to a boil. Let bubble for 2 minutes. 
  5. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.
  6. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, and then again through cheesecloth, so you have a smooth and thick syrup. This is the trickiest part!
  7. Stir in the vodka. It will keep in the fridge for up to three months, so feel free to make this part in advance.

To make the Macabre Martini:

  1. Line the rim of a martini glass with leftover sesame seeds by first running a lime wedge around the edge and then dunking the edge in the seeds.
  2. Put all the cocktail ingredients in a shaker and shake vigorously for 60 seconds.
  3. Add three ice cubes, and shake again for 30 seconds or until cocktail feels cold through the shaker. 
  4. Strain into a martini glass.

Explore our Museum of the Macabre line-up of events and activities.