Is Agnes the perfect neighbor or what? She’ll bring over every ingredient for a four-course dinner, loan out her pet bunny (don’t ask), and even babysit in a pinch.
Well, until she reveals herself to be a literal witch who’s been manipulating everything behind the scenes. Spoiler alert—it was Agatha all along!
Agatha isn’t the first sidekick to steal the show in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—Loki, Falcon, and the Winter Soldier are all getting spinoffs on Disney+ after all. But Agatha is the only one with her own catchy-as-hell theme song. Aaand it’s stuck in my head now.
Who’s Who of WandaVision
Going into WandaVision, I never would’ve guessed that my favorite character would turn out to be new-to-the-screen Agatha Harkness (played by inimitable character actor Kathryn Hahn).
I already loved the Scarlet Witch aka Wanda (Elisabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany), though I didn’t ship them at all in Infinity War (miss me with that “Vis” pet name, bleh). Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) and Agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) were positively delightful and should totally have a buddy-cop spinoff. And my jaw hit the floor when Pietro appeared—Evan Peters is the superior Quicksilver, fight me!
You see, I’ve been an X-Men fan since childhood and an MCU fan since the night I went to a premiere screening of Iron Man on a whim. And well, there was no looking back for this Tony Stark stan! (If you want my full nerd bona fides, check out my podcast.)
So I had a lot of expectations for WandaVision, all of them high and none of them about a wrinkly old witch from comics canon. But it’s no surprise that Marvel Studios is full of surprises. You can always count on the MCU to deliver big wow moments and plot twists.
Half the fun of watching each new episode of WandaVision week to week was trying to puzzle out just what the heck was going on! Who would’ve guessed that this zany sitcom fantasy-mystery would evolve into a heartfelt exploration of grief and love…
Anyway, back to Agatha.
Did I mention she has her own theme song?! The earwormy “Agatha All Along” was composed by wife-husband duo Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez of Frozen fame—possibly the only marital Disney team-up more popular than Wanda and Vision themselves.
Witch, Please!
You just know that Agatha as her alter-ego Agnes (helpful housewife meets nosy neighbor by way of Ethel Mertz) is no stranger to a bar cart. She goes straight for Wanda’s “dark liquor” and brings a flask to Dottie’s planning committee after all! And as a witch, she’s probably brewed up a potion or two in her time.
So paying homage to Agatha with a magical mixed drink seemed like a no-brainer. Something witchy and charming (heh) that’s hiding a powerful punch underneath. Oh, and it had to be purple! With a touch of scarlet as a nod to Wanda. Superheroes and villains sure do a love color scheme.
When I thought of purple-red co*cktails, my mind instantly went to the classic bramble. And what better way to add another pop of purple than by swapping conventional gin with Empress 1908 and its signature indigo hue. (Pssst, Empress gin has magical properties too! Check out the recipe below to see.)
Yield: 1
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
This botanical berry co*cktail is sweet at first but finishes with surprising tartness. Plus, it has a spellbinding twist that would make Agatha proud.
Ingredients
- 2 oz Empress 1908 Gin
- 1/2 oz simple syrup
- 1 oz fresh lime juice
- 1/2 oz crème de mûre (blackberry liqueur)
- crushed or pellet ice to serve
- blackberries to garnish
- Optional: 1 oz Luxardo maraschino cherry juice (see notes)
Instructions
- Fill a co*cktail shaker with regular ice, then add gin and simple syrup.
- Shake until well-chilled.
- Strain into a glass filled with crushed or pellet ice. Or little hexagonal ice cubes as shown (if you know, you know).
- This is the magic part! Gently pour the lime juice over the gin and watch as it transforms! Empress 1908 gin gets its purple-blue pigmentation from the butterfly pea blossom, which naturally reacts to acidic ingredients and changes into a pink or fuchsia color. Some might even say... scarlet *wink*
- Slowly drizzle the crème de mûre over the top so that it seeps down into the glass (kinda like Agatha’s smoky-black-purple magic).
- Garnish with blackberries.
Notes
For an even more dramatic co*cktail with layered effects, try this easy alternative (from the mixology multiverse, if you will):
Start by pouring about 1 ounce of juice from a jar of Luxardo maraschino cherries into an empty glass. (Note: Only Luxardo cherries have that dark scarlet color we’re going for, so be sure to get this brand!) Tilt to coat the bottom. Fill the glass with crushed or pellet ice, and then complete the recipe as usual for a stunning scarlet-purple-pink concoction.
And that’s it! I like to imagine that Agatha would mix up a batch to impress the ladies of Westview, or even her coven (if, you know, she hadn’t killed them all).
As for me, I’ll be sipping on this colorful co*cktail alongside some WandaVision-inspired food (breakfast for dinner, anyone?). Or maybe I’ll enjoy a glass while watching WandaVision yet again. Hey, it’s pandemic times, what else am I going to do?
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Meg Mezeske
I’m just your average author-podcaster-beekeeper-dilettante. When I’m not writing about pop culture or food, I’m podcasting about it. Catch me at the nearest movie theater, used bookstore, or hipster co*cktail bar.
