by admin | Sep 21, 2017 | Food and Drink
Smoke and Fire! Created by request for The Dragon Reborn, this is a drink that elicits comments like “This thing’ll kill me!” Technically it is a mixed drink, because Chip takes two whiskeys and mixes them. One of the key ingredients is serrano chili peppers, so it is also quite spicy. So…be careful, and drink with caution.
As usual, he prefers to mix them in parts:
- 1 part Corsair Triple Smoke whiskey
A smoky whiskey has a dry peaty taste, like an Islay malt. Chip cuts this one with the other whiskey since most people don’t like it quite as peaty as he does.
- 1 part Johnny Walker Red whiskey
This blended Scotch is specifically designed for mixing.
- 4 – 1/8″ thick slices of serrano pepper
Grab a cutting board, a knife, and one pepper. Cut the pepper in 1/8″ slices.
- TIP:
- Before you cut the pepper, put on gloves. Pepper juice has ruined several sets of Chip’s contacts. The juice is actually capsaicin oil and is notoriously hard to wash off, even with soap and water. If you accidentally touch parts of your body with the capsaicin still on your hands – well, let’s just say you’ll only forget to wear gloves once.
Put all the ingredients (including the pepper slices) in a shaker with 4 big pieces of cubed ice. Remember the ice tray your granny used to have that made the really big ice cubes? That’s the size you want.
Shake well till your shaker turns cold and then pour into a glass to serve.
- TIP:
- As with The Battle Ajah from last week, you’ll want to use an actual glass container, not one made of plastic or waxed cardboard.
Take off the gloves and throw them away unless you are making another round. Sit back and enjoy – you’ve earned it!
BONUS ROUND
For the full taste experience of Smoke and Fire – think Dumai’s Wells’ level of smoke and fire – Chip says this next bit is the MOST important part. Before you drink your Double Dragon, take a piece of your serrano pepper and “rim” the glass with it. Remember, that just means taking a pepper slice and swiping it around the rim of the glass.
The capsaicin helps attune your taste buds to different flavor notes in the whiskeys. WOW! This final step makes this drink taste super top shelf.
by admin | Sep 4, 2017 | Food and Drink
This drink could easily be called a “spicy” Appletini, but ours has a special little kick to it, thanks to the “secret ingredient.” Don’t say we didn’t warn you! It’s green, slightly fiery, and will take you by surprise – no wonder it’s Alanna Mosvani’s favorite cocktail!
Shake the following ingredients together with ice (or have your Warders do it):
- 1 part dry vermouth
You can also split 1/2 sweet with 1/2 dry vermouth if your tastes swing more that way.
- 2 parts good vodka
- 1 part apple cider
You can use apple juice instead, but Chip doesn’t recommended it if you already used sweet vermouth in the recipe.
- 1/2 part Bang Candy Company Habanero lime syrup
Secret Ingredient! Ajahs do love keeping secrets! Of course, Greens are not particularly good at that….so here’s where you can buy your own.
Serve in a glass martini glass. If you do not have a martini glass, send yourself off to the Mistress of Novices for punishment. Or just use some other type of glass and send the Warders off for punishment.
- TIP:
- Whatever you do, don’t use paper or plastic to serve this drink. It won’t end well.
Spicy and satisfying — just the way we like it! Enjoy.
by admin | Aug 7, 2017 | Food and Drink
Based on a Roaring 20’s cocktail called “Blood and Sand,” our version is dryer than the original to match our sense of humor. And, because it’s made with Blood Oranges, you can usually only get the ingredients during the winter months. But it’s well worth the wait. Just like the ending of our favorite book series.
Take equal parts of the following:
- Fresh squeezed blood orange juice
Note that actually squeezing the blood oranges yourself results in a far better drink than buying pre-bottled juice at the grocery store.
- Dry vermouth
- Herring’s Cherry Liquor
- Johnny Walker Black
Mix in a shaker with cubed ice, zest the orange peel, and add to glass.
- TIP:
- To “zest” an orange peel means to cut off tiny pieces of the peel to add flavor to your drink. You can use a fine grater to do this, but “zesting” tools are widely available at kitchen gadget stores and inexpensive. This is often done with lemons and limes as well, when making drink or desert recipes.
Delectable! Sit back, sip, and pretend you’re back at JordanCon!
BONUS ROUND
If you want to get real fancy (and Chip encourages you to try this at least once), you can heat up another large piece of orange peel with a lighter to extract the essential oils. You'll see the oil seep out, but don't char the peel. Just heat it enough for the orange oils to bubble out of the peel. Here's a YouTube video that shows how to do this perfectly:
How to Flame an Orange Zest - Raising the Bar with Jamie Boudreau
Swipe the rim of the glass with the peel - depositing the extra oils along the rim - and add the peel to your drink.
Keep your eyes “peeled” for additional drink recipes over the next few weeks.
by admin | Jul 11, 2017 | Food and Drink
The Cosmere
JordanCon prides itself on offering an inclusive and welcoming environment, where people of all stripes can have a wonderful time with other like-minded individuals. And by like-minded, we mean “people who love good books.” We may look different, act different, believe different things, or come from all over the world, but at JordanCon we can both relish our similarities AND celebrate our differences.
So it’s just a wee bit embarrassing that we hadn’t already thought to create a drink to quench the thirst of our non-alcohol-imbibing friends, especially when one of those has been a frequent guest, a Guest of Honor and an ongoing supporter of JordanCon. But once we HAD realized our error, we immediately hurried to correct it. Chip put on his biggest thinking cap and came up with this lovely drink: The Cosmere. (And if you don’t understand that reference, you can catch up here.)
If we had to describe it in terms of a cocktail, the closest approximation is a non-alcoholic Cosmopolitan. But as usual Chip has put his own special swing on it. You will find its citrusy taste refreshingly complex and immersive, with secrets to be discovered in every sip – very much like Brandon Sanderson’s books. A drink you can enjoy while still keeping your wits about you, whether you’re powering through the next Stormlight Archive book or staying up all night to duel the Master himself at Magic: The Gathering. (And you WILL need your wits about you for that, trust us.)
Ingredients:
Mix all of the ingredients listed below in a “mixing glass.”
- What is a Mixing Glass?
- Many cocktails require you to stir the ingredients together, rather than shaking. A clear glass mixing glass with straight sides, a heavy base, and a pour spout works far better (and looks nicer) for this purpose. In your average hotel room, a tall drinking glass or pint glass from the bar will do. Naturally, this recipe requires you to both stir AND shake the ingredients, which can be tricky if you don’t have the right tools. Chip keeps a clear plastic drinking tumbler — one with a lid that seals well — in his travel bag and it has come in handy numerous times.
- 1 jigger of fresh-squeezed lime juice (2 oz.)
A jigger is a small liquid measuring cup used to measure ingredients for both shaken and stirred cocktails. Because cocktail recipes call for quantities of two ounces or less, a full-size measuring cup won’t do (and a shot glass isn’t accurate enough).
- A double shot of water (about 3 oz.)
- A squeeze of orange-tangerine vitamin water enhancer (about 1/2 oz.)
These are concentrated, citrus-flavored vitamin additives you can add to your drinking water. You can find both liquid and powder forms in your local grocery, but Chip uses Kroger’s liquid version which comes in a small 2.4 oz bottle and can be found in their vitamin water aisle.
- A splash of cranberry juice for color
- Ice, crushed, cubed or in Shards (see what we did there?)
- A fresh orange peel
Instructions:
After you’ve added all of the liquid ingredients above to your mixing glass, finishing with the cranberry juice, fill the remainder of your mixing glass with ice. Cover the mixing glass tightly with your shaker lid (or some other sealable lid), shake vigorously for a few seconds and pour into your drinking glass. Flame zest a bit of orange peel (instructions can be found here in the “Bonus Round” section of the Blood and Bloody Ashes recipe) and garnish the drink with it. Serve, sit back, and enjoy. Bridge Four approved.
