Absinthe and Champagne — Ernest Hemingway's own recipe, published in 1935. Two ingredients, no nonsense.
Ernest Hemingway contributed the Death in the Afternoon to a 1935 celebrity cocktail book called 'So Red the Nose, or Breath in the Afternoon'. His note was characteristically terse: 'Pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly.'
The drink is named after Hemingway's 1932 book about Spanish bullfighting. The louche effect — the cloudiness that occurs when water is added to absinthe — is one of the most beautiful phenomena in cocktail making. The anise compounds in absinthe are soluble in alcohol but not in water; as the Champagne dilutes the spirit, they precipitate out as tiny droplets that scatter light, turning the drink milky white.
Replace Champagne with Italian Prosecco for a softer, less acidic version. The fruitiness of Prosecco pairs well with the anise.
Drop a sugar cube into the flute before the absinthe, as in an absinthe drip. The Champagne dissolves it as you pour.
Replace absinthe with pastis (Ricard or Pernod) for a lower-alcohol, more approachable version. The louche is identical but softer.