The feeling of vexation thus engendered grew stronger with every circumstance tending to show resemblance, moral or physical, between my rival and myself. I had not then discovered the remarkable fact that we were of the same age; but I saw that we were of the same height, and I perceived that we were even singularly alike in general contour of person and outline of feature.
The Tale
William Wilson is a classic doppelganger story. The narrator encounters his look-alike in school, and this mysterious figure repeatedly shows up to sabotage the author’s many schemes. The doppelganger exhibits slight variations from the narrator (including a voice which is only a whisper), but in general bears an uncanny physical resemblance. In the end the narrator kills his doppelganger, whose final words ring thus: “You have conquered, and I yield. Yet, henceforward art thou also dead — dead to the World, to Heaven and to Hope! In me didst thou exist — and, in my death, see by this image, which is thine own, how utterly thou hast murdered thyself.” Is it just me, or does this strike you also as a cross between Shakespeare and Star Trek?
The full story is available here.
The Drink
One of the great philosophical questions that everyone eventually faces is: Should I make my Old Fashioned with bourbon or rye? Thankfully, Poe’s William Wilson gives us a way to avoid that agonizing dilemma and have it both ways. Like the two William Wilsons in a classroom, this drink takes two slightly-different versions of a whiskey cocktail and combines them with satisfying results. The spicy rye and sweet bourbon play off each other nicely. The rich brown sugar draws out the bourbon while the plebian white sugar softens the rye. Meanwhile, the two bitters add interest and complexity. The two different cherries are mainly for show, but if you’re smart you’ll finish off your drink with a one-two punch that underscores the source material.
Ingredients:
1 generous shot of rye
1 generous shot of bourbon
1 white sugar cube
1 brown sugar cube
1 teaspoon water
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
2 dashes of orange bitters
1 maraschino cherry (as garnish)
1 amarina cherry (as garnish)
Place both sugar cubes in a rocks glass along with the water and bitters. Muddle until the sugar is dissolved. Now add ice and both whiskeys. Stir for about 30 seconds. Add the two cherries on separate cocktail picks. Drink it while wearing your embroidered morning wrapper.
Poe-Script
This tale is told in Poe’s inimical style, but the general thrust of the story has flowed from many pens. I think in particular of Oscar Wilde’s Picture of Dorian Gray, which was published a half-century after “William Wilson.” As with Poe’s tale, Wilde’s has the protagonist murder himself in an effort to destroy his doppelganger. Please don’t try this at home.
Chasing Phantoms 
Enjoy that garnish now because RFK Jr & his MAHA movement are coming after your maraschino cherries (which require some nasty synthetic red dye to achieve that color not-found-in-nature). Drink up!
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