Bartender!

[erithromycin]

Arguably this one is a drinking game, rather than an actual drink, but it's the product of a number of 'Iron Bartender' conversations:

Person A picks a component, and gets a shot of it. Person B drinks the drink. Person B picks another component, and gets a shot of it, and the first ingredient. Person A drinks the drink.

Repeat until the drink is undrinkable, or successes have caused someone to roll over. Obviously, there is an advantage in making the drink drinkable. However, restrictions on ingredients (no repetition, for example) can make things very difficult.

Or, you know, there's something ridiculously brazen and arrogant and fiendishly complicated, like a triple Goldshclager topped with flaming Sambuca and a straw. A straw which must not melt!

drew

[jburneko]

The Passer Demon

Put 2 oz Vodka, 8 oz Milk and 2 oz Chambord into a shaker.  Shake until frothy.

Now, that sure does LOOK like a milkshake. :)

Jesse

[jburneko]

The Inconspicuous Demon

1 oz White Rum,
1 oz White Tequilla,
1 oz Vodka.  
Top off with Club Soda.

Jesse

[Mulciber]

The Sorcerer:

6 oz. Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale*
1 shot (1.25 oz) Jagermeister

Apply Jagermeister to shot glass.  Drop in Ginger Ale (preferably itself surrounded by stein).  Drink as per boilermaker, if you can.  If not, take shot and chase with ale.


*If you're substituting for this, and you almost certainly are outside of the Southeast, you want a ginger ale that is distinctly gingery and has a pronounced bite to it.  _Canada Dry_ will not do.

Best,
Will

The idea here is that drinking Jagermeister period can either lead to alienation as expressed by silent alchoholism behind closed doors, or engaged conviviality affirming humanity as only a brush with the Other can.  This is because Jagermeister is a favored drink of the Other.  Just ask Them.  The ginger ale is the frisson that the interaction of the bloated ego of the Sorcerer and the requirements of Necessity create when scraped together rapidly.

[DevP]

If you're substituting for this, and you almost certainly are outside of the Southeast, you want a ginger ale that is distinctly gingery and has a pronounced bite to it.  _Canada Dry_ will not do.

Ginger beer, you mean?

[Bob McNamee]

In the michigan/ midwest usa area something like Vernors would probably be good...although its not quite as zippy as a really strong ginger beer.

(hmm...I've even made a beer that was a ginger beer...with grated ginger in the boil...wonder how to add that?)

[Mulciber]

I don't know that ginger beer is the taste and texture combination I'm suggesting here, Dev.  If ginger beer is carbonated, gingery, strongly peppery, and doesn't conflict with the cinnamon from the Jagermeister, I say go for it.

As to Vernor's, Bob, I really like it.  Almost as much as Buffalo Rock.  It's not quite as sharp, though.

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

We are currently in the middle of the taste-testing process: "we" being me, Julie, and Tod (two of the culprits involved in the invention of Azk'Arn).

By "the middle," I mean that we are halfway through the list so far. At this point, Julie favors "The Sorcerer" from Christopher Weeks. A couple of entries have been skipped due to the scarcity of (say) diet cherry-flavored 7-Up, but nothing will be skipped in the long run (hic).

None of us are suitable for polite company at this moment. Tod says, "Fuck off!" apparently to the universe at large. He has always sung a verse or two, but Ron is no better, countering with a bit from "Oklahoma" and "South Park."

I rather liked Brian's "kindler gentler" submission, although it's controversial among the three of us.

So! Testing will continue,  but as of now, pizza and Hop Devil beer have arrived and the process is stalled for an hour or two.

Best,
Ron

[Ron Edwards]

Whoooooo - ewwww!

The tasting is largely completed! Or rather, we are completed. Nearly every entry (ingredients permitting) has been composed and consumed. Much dialogue has ensued. None of us are fit to judge anything as of this writing.

But the final comments shall be delivered when we have, blearily, arisen and sipped coffee and admitted that, yes, we will live to see another day.

Best,
Ron

[ethan_greer]

Maybe a little late to suggest it, but Stewart's has a pretty decent ginger beer that can be found at major grocery chains (Giant Eagle round these parts, for example).

What, you couldn't get to a grocery store to pick up some cherry 7-Up? Slackers. :)

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

The results of the Sorcerer Cocktail contest! Looking over our soaked and stained notes, we see the following.

1. The main point: thus far, "the Sorcerer" remains elusive.

Clinton's submission demonstrates a strong bite, and the salt goes very well with the pastis. Objections include, "Why have the vodka," from Tod the Russian judge (who rejected the idea that "more alcohol" was a sufficient reply), and "Not original enough," because pastis + soda is apparently a standard. Ron liked it. Everyone agreed it's at least a B, if not better.

Mike's Jager/Tequila/Ginger Brandy concoction was oddly tasteless, especially since it didn't taste good. Big gong noise.

Brian's 3d20 product was tolerably drinkable (Ron being the non-Russian judge who thinks "everyone can win!") but 1 full part of creme de menthe is emphatically too much. Halve it or remove it, at the least.

Ethan's drink wasn't tested, as diet cherry 7-up is not immediately available. However, Ethan, you will be pleased to know that for a later drink, we acquired Sioux City ginger beer of the highest and sharpest quality. In the future, everyone please confine their feelings, convictions, and items of concern regarding ginger beer and/or ale to discussion boards at another website. Any other website.

Christopher Weeks gets the "best mixer person" award for sure. His "Sorcerer" was Julie's fave for the night and she doesn't even like Southern Comfort. A fleeting concern was expressed that the Pernod (which we used to replace the absinthe, not wanting brain damage) takes over.

Raven's Spiced Rum + Jager + etc drink was without doubt the foulest combination consumed during the evening. Julie's comment: "I thought it was his wife that was pregnant." Tod's: "I curl my lip at it." Ron's: "It could be worse," optimistically speaking. We did laugh about it the most, especially upon finding that Raven's suggestion that seltzer would tone it down was woefully mistaken, as the bubbles instead sent the tabasco airborne into the sinuses just before one sips the drink. Not recommended under any circumstances.

We did not try Jesse's "Sorcerer" because we didn't feel like killing a whole bottle of champagne. But I will try it one of these days.

Mike's second attempt, specified as "something that tastes good," shows that non-drinkers may not be the drink inventors of choice ... it was, as judged, "This is a joke, right?", "Ick poo," and "Just nasty." The only consolation for Mike is that Raven's was worse.

Drew's suggested drink was ignored.

Mulciber's ginger beer + Jager boilermaker didn't fly. The ginger beer was simply too powerful for the Jager, which distinctive as it may be, does not have the solidity of, say, rum or bourbon.

2. The Binding was easier to judge. We did not try Brian's version although we are open-minded and curious. Pepper schnapps could not be located in time. Honorable mention for intriguement, however.

Christopher's "Sorcerer" led to an impromptu invention by Julie of 1 oz Pernod, 2 oz Campari, topped with seltzer and a substantial, squeezed lime wedge, which was mighty tasty, and wins the title "The Binding."

3. Now for some of the demonic terms.

Christopher Weeks' "Need" was nice and smooth, "sweet yet bitter" without just being contradictory. Tod went all Russian again by likening it to High C, but others thought that a bit unfair. It beats Walt's "Need" even though we did need the water about then pretty badly.

Christopher's "The Desire," with all the sugar and sticky stuff, was a very good dessert-type drink, most suitable for Thanksgiving celebration. Perhaps it might do better with champagne or club soda rather than 7-Up.

We didn't try his "Banishment" as (a) we didn't want to wait two weeks, and (b) "drinkable yet funky" did not inspire a sense of trust and commitment on our parts.

Tod's rye + Cointreau instantly wins the title, "The Demon." Highly recommended for consumption in a bar with leather on the walls, mirrors with little studs surrounding them, cigar smoke, very comfy chairs, and a polite bartender in a white tuxedo.

Rod Anderson's "Inconspicuous Demon" was surprisingly good, as scotch goes very well with cream soda, much in the same sense as a Moscow Mule or a Dark & Stormy are perfect combos of hard liquors and their respective sodas. It beats Jesse's entry of the same name, which although it admirably fulfilled its intended resemblance to water, was essentially diluted tequila, but not in a good way. Ron liked it better than the others, but not very much.

On the other hand, Jesse's "Passing Demon" was quite drinkable, resembling and to some extent tasting like a raspberry egg cream right out of the 1950s. It wins the appellation, especially after it got some seltzer squirted in there.

4. Ron came to the table with some ideas as well.

"Bug Lover," the official Azk'Arn drink, is 1.5 oz tequila, 1 oz black sambuca, with a good squirt of lime juice, shaken with ice and then strained into a chilled cocktail glass (rimmed with lime and salt), garnished with the lime. It's a really, really good drink, as anticipated.

We didn't try his "Gimme Some Soul," which would be 0.5 oz tequila, 1.5 oz chocolate liqueur, filled with hot coffee (mixed with some cinnamon first) and topped with whipped cream.

We also discovered a couple of good mixers that could be the base for some more drinks.
a) 3:1 Southern Comfort to limoncello
b) 2:1 brandy to limoncello

This contest will be repeated but not all that often. At GenCon next year, however, the Sorcerer Cocktail Menu will be available in full battle-tested array, and will be served at an Adept Press event, clearly after-hours.

Best,
Ron

[greyorm]

YES! I got "nastiest drink of the evening"! Not quite what I was going for, but hey, it's an award at least. And I did warn you it wasn't tested.

Hrm, now I think I'm going to hit the liquor store next weekend (being that I now have money, and the kids will be at their grandma's) and see what I can mix up through actual taste-testing.

[Ron Edwards]

Raven gets a parade around the block, being carried on the shoulders of the people in front.

Best,
Ron

[Bob McNamee]

So does that make Raven's the Zero Humanity drink?

[Mulciber]

Pity my entry didn't fly.  Have to 1) play Sorcerer and 2) try the drink in question some time; perhaps something can be made of it.


So, who's going to write the Sorcerer supplement _Evil Spirits_?  Humanity is sobriety, Summoning is via the Demon's favorite drink, Binding through a mickey, and Needs must all be 80 proof or better (or something).  Punishment is (rather obviously, I fear) by way of those frat initiation drinks Ron was asking us not to submit.  All sorcerous drinks would clearly have to be mixed and consumed in situ.  

Repeated play would clearly run up a Hell of a bar tab.


Regards,
Will