Velvety and delicate, she looked like she’d curl with the weight of a dewdrop. Little did she know she’d find herself resting sweetly on a bed of foam soon after, ready to be tasted.
He was tall and slender, with an inviting mouth. He held all of her—delicately, thoughtfully, with surety. She had her own hold on him, too. A smart onlooker could see it: see through him, even more beautifully so in her presence.
All versions of her flourished within his embrace. She was nectar, she was effervescent; she was candied and pink and irresistible.
"What's soft, round and red?" she asked, testing his silent, enamoured devotion.
"You," he answered.
She was indeed a petal, one from a wild pink rose, picked from the grounds of the castle they both resided in. With hibiscus, she became the nectar to be poured on a white sugar cube, topped with the frosty allure of a dangerously intoxicating friend (frozen pear vodka) and her own sophisticated effervescence (Lanson Rosé Champagne). Lush, lemony foam swirled and settled on top of them to hide everything underneath, leaving hints of only her sweetest bits. They came together to form a smooth, luxuriant cocktail: The Obelisk, an "elixir" created "to capture the timeless love between Lord and Lady Ardilaun".
Lord Ardilaun is known to have erected a chalet on the grounds of Ashford Castle Estate in 1908, for his wife. The chalet was deemed their favourite place on the estate and it overlooked the Lough Corrib. Lord Ardilaun died in 1915 and a year later, his wife had an obelisk erected near the chalet in his memory. Find The Obelisk on the menu of The Prince of Wales Bar at Ashford Castle in Cong, Ireland. €25. Garnished beautifully with the bar's homemade lemon foam and rose petal crystals.
*Only hotel residents and restaurant diners are allowed inside The Prince of Wales Bar; the dress code is formal (men must wear jackets).