Top Shelf: The Queen of Crowns at Madison
Four years after opening its baby blue doors in University Heights, Madison has officially rolled out a new cocktail menu—and on it is the Queen of Crowns, a drink so mystical that its key ingredient required the light of a full moon.
No, it’s not a night-blooming flower—it’s amethyst.
The moon “charges them, makes them more healing and more calming,” says Matt Sieve, Madison’s general manager and owner, who prepped the crystals in his own backyard. “We’re taking it seriously, and we’re doing it right.”
The drink was inspired by conversations Sieve’s had on his past few dates, which dove into astrology, gemstones, and tarot.
Starting with a base of The Botanist gin—and the stone’s supposedly soothing energy—the conversation-starting cocktail has an herbaceous delivery: flavors of fennel, anise, and wormwood from Fairy Dust cocktail syrup, floral notes from Giffard Crème de Violette and Strega liqueurs (the latter means “witch” in Italian), and a splash of butterfly pea flower and citrus for that violet hue. Dried rose petals top it all off.
For full uncanny effect, it’s served with burning palo santo incense affixed to the glass, as well as a crystal and a tarot card to take home (they also have a book that explains your fortune).
“It’s a lot to bring to the table,” Sieve says. “But the look on people’s faces when we do, it’s great.”
4622 Park Boulevard, University Heights madisononpark
