Benedictine Unleashed Darth Vadar-ish Limited Edition Bottle

To honor its 500th anniversary on Earth, Benedictive, the impossibly ancient French herbal liqueur, has unveiled a limited edition, bad-ass-looking, all-black bottle.

According to the company, the design is inspired by earlier incarnations of the Benedictine bottle. The dominant black is a tribute to the monks' habits, but "above all it is representative of the secrecy surrounding the Benedictine recipe." The gold detailing represents alchemy. And finally, the three letters DOM, stand for Deo Optimo Maximo, or "To God, Most God, Most Great," the motto of the Benedictine monks.

Also in honor of reaching the five-century mark, Benedictine has released the winning recipe of a worldwide cocktail competition. Now, I don't generally put much stock in these contests. But I'm printed the cocktail here because I do love a recipe so simple you can memorize it instantly—particularly in these times, when cocktails get more and more ornate, confused and involved.

Damon Dyer's The Monte Cassino is simplicity itself: 3/4 ounces each of Benedictine, Yellow Chartreuse, lemon juice and Rittenhouse Rye.