Behind The Bar at Fable & Spirit – The Morrigan’s Dream Cocktail Rules

Yes, Cathy Thomas Drinks!

One of my favorite cocktails of 2019 is the Morrigan’s Dream at the award-winning new restaurant, Fable & Spirit in Newport Beach (Lido Marina area).

Mixologist Drew Coyle makes this irresistible concoction with fresh fruit juice, fresh celery juice, gin and Yellow Chartreuse. It’s bright and refreshing.

Pretty too, a delicious green hue served in a Nick and Nora glass. (If you don’t know what the “Nick and Nora” reference is, read the cook’s notes blurb in the recipe.)

First have a look at the video to see how beautiful the restaurant is, and take in the beauty of this amazing cocktail.

Arrive two hours before lunchtime opening and you will witness a flurry of activity behind the bar. Most everything except the spirits are prepped daily, either freshly squeezed or juiced or infused. The culinary-driven cocktails require a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, ingredients that make them delicious as well as beautiful. The bar program is led by Drew Coyle. He is the oh-so-talented son of Darren and Jean Coyle, the Irish-born restaurateurs who brought eateries Dublin 4 Gastropub, as well as Wineworks for Everyone to Orange County, before recently opening Fable & Spirit in the Lido Marina.

Born and raised in Orange County, Drew attended Capo Valley High School in Mission Viejo. He started working in the family’s restaurant business at 14, first as a dishwasher, then moved up to the sauté station at 18. At first, he aspired to become a chef. Wanting to get experience at the front of the house, he spent some time behind the bar, thinking that cooking and bartending are very similar in their creativity levels. It was a fit.

He loved engaging directly with guests and appreciated that it didn’t seem at all repetitive.

Here’s the formula!

Fable & Spirit’s Morrigan’s Dream
Ice
2 ounces Fords London Dry Gin
1 ounce celery juice
3/4 ounce pineapple juice
1/8 ounce (bar spoon) fresh lime juice
1/8 ounce (bar spoon) simple syrup infused with lime
1/8 ounce (bar spoon) Yellow Chartreuse
Garnish: celery leaf
Cook’s notes: Somewhere between a martini glass and a coupe, Nick and Nora glasses are named after the cinematic husband-and-wife detective team Nick and Nora Charles. Crate and Barrel’s Website (one source for the glasses) writes that they bring back the suave sophistication of 1930s high life.

1. Add ice to cocktail shaker. Add gin, celery juice, pineapple juice, lime juice, simple syrup and chartreuse. Shake vigorously and strain into a Nick and Nora glass. Garnish with celery leaf.