We’ve reached the end of our horoscope cocktail series with Pisces, the twelfth and final sign in the zodiac, extending from February 20 through March 20. Since it does come last, Pisces is said to have absorbed the energy of every sign that has come before it. Ruled by Neptune, the planet of fantasy and dreams, this water sign is represented by a pair of fish. Mythologically speaking, these fish are thought to represent Aphrodite (the goddess of beauty) and her son Eros (the god of love) who were attacked one day while walking along a river by the terrible monster Typhoon. He was a massive giant whose eyes shot flames and whose hands had dragons for fingers. Aphrodite and Eros jumped into the river to escape Typhoon, and two fish were cast into the heavens to commemorate the day when beauty and love were saved.

Piscean emotions are as deep as the ocean. Those born under its sign are extremely sensitive and intuitive, and are capable of an incredible amount of compassion and empathy. They can be charming and magical people to have in your life who will inspire you with their artistic talents, appreciation for beautiful things, and constant sense of vision. They are wise and helpful when you seek advice, listening endlessly and attentively to what troubles you, and offering a comfort that is difficult to find elsewhere from the other zodiac signs. I can personally attest to this. I know a particular Pisces who has been listening endlessly to me lately, much to my great fortune. Pisceans are hopeless romantics, and extremely idealistic, yet when confronted by reality they can become surprisingly adaptable, and can take things in stride that you would expect to otherwise unnerve them. But you have to let them get there on their own. Despite all these truly wonderful qualities, you must always remember that Pisceans are fish, and there will be times where they will become slippery and elusive, swimming away into depths that we cannot reach. This can occur when they are overwhelmed by something in their own lives, whether it’s a physical thing like crowds or their current environment, or it can happen because they are overwhelmed emotionally. In either case, Pisceans will have a tendency not to share what is troubling them, but rather to become vague and secretive. Pisceans can also become extremely pessimistic when there is too much on their plates, and instead of maintaining their normal sense of focus, they can suddenly turned dreamy and escape into their own thoughts, leaving us gazing into the depths  and waiting for them to swim home.

Pisceans love to be creative and artistic and are often very original in terms of their personal appearance and their wardrobe. They have wonderful imaginations and love to daydream. They love variety and spontaneity and are not happy when required to strictly follow rules of any kind. They love to help others, to the point where their empathy can cause them to become almost too personally involved. Pisceans do not like being put under pressure, nor do they like hard work that is tedious and boring, both of these things simply going against their fluid nature as a water sign. Pisceans do not like their magical and imaginative way of looking at the world to be challenged. They like to confront reality on their own terms and they will not respond well to harsh criticism of any kind.

To come up with today’s drink, I considered alternative versions of the Aviation cocktail because Pisces’ color is purple, and because the Aviation is a beautiful classic with a definite dreamy air about it. I decided to use Plymouth gin as my base spirit and to infuse it with some lavender that I have growing outside. I kept the Crème de Violette, of course, but bumped it up a bit, and kept the lemon juice, but used sake in place of the maraschino liqueur. I also added in some DRAM lavender lemon balm bitters. These ingredients combined together in a subtle, almost ethereal way, and I thought that it suited Pisces perfectly.

Swim Back to Me

2 oz lavender-infused Plymouth gin
¾ oz Giffard Crème de Violette
¼ oz Tokubetsu Junmai “Heaven’s Door” sake
½ oz lemon juice
2 dashes DRAM Apothecary lavender lemon balm bitters

Combine all the ingredients together in a shaker tin with ice. Shake 20 seconds or so until very cold. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lavender sprig. Cheers, Pisces!