Serpent Society, part 3/3 (Diamondback and mocktails)

It’s time for our last Serpent Society cocktail, Diamondback. Series completed, I compiled all Serpent recipes in one handy compilation, you’ll find it in Recipes and downloads.

In addition to Diamondback I’ll introduce some mocktail recipes. Designated drivers, pregnant ladies, people who don’t drink alcohol for some other reason… they are in the same cocktail parties with the rest, and drinking Coke or coffee gets boring pretty fast. Through the years I’ve made some effort to provide them with some interesting mocktails, and I’ve gotten positive feedback.

But before mocktails…

 

DIAMONDBACK

Yes, history repeats itself: as in Magneto and Hawkeye, once again my photograph of purple drink is abysmal! Lightning up with brute force and moderate use of “saturation” colour enhancement brings us pretty close to IRL-colour. To my (and my cameras) defence: I once succeeded taking a picture of purple drink… Gorilla Grodd.

Le Purp liqueur… “blueberryish with lime, with a slight hint of strawberry”… well, I guess so; not my favourite. Anyway, it inspired me to add balance it with the dry spicyness of vermouth; then I added a touch of apple’s sourness, and a tiny touch of Parfait Amour…

4 parts Le Purp

4 parts extra dry vermouth

1 part Parfait Amour

2 parts apple juice

Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass.

This drink is not for those in haste! Enjoy it slowly, I think it’s a decent representation of Diamondback’s character and abilities.

 

And then to mocktails. This is the first batch, there’s going to be more… but let’s start with these.

PLEASE NOTE: Some might consider mocktails to be just children’s drinks, tasting sweet and simple. That might be the case with some drinks, but many of my mocktail recipes are intended for adults: they have aromas that only grown-ups appreciate. Test Subject Children love some of these… but most of them make them grimace in disgust, while their parents nod approvingly while tasting.

 

BATKID

I dedicated my 100th recipe to Batkid, aka. Miles Scott. Well, it was a grown-up version containing alcohol (because we’re all hoping Miles reaches legal drinking age), and I promised to introduce mocktail version… it’s been too long, but here it is…

1 part Dr. Pepper (see below)

1 part cranberry juice

Tabasco

Build into highball glass, add some ice. Garnish accordinly.

And as always with berry juices… please use high quality concentrate diluted with water 1:1 ratio instead of recommendation.

Whats the point of Tabasco? The goal of this drink: Dr. Pepper and cranberry juice create “a dark taste”, thick as the shadows in the darkest alleys of Gotham… and in the aftertaste there’s a Tabasco sting: reminder of vigilant Batman guarding those alleys. The amount of Tabasco is up to each individual’s taste: start with half a dozen drops while testing, then just add more.

Coca Cola creates better “dark taste” than Dr. Pepper, but it tends to “drown” Tabasco. Use Coke if you find it more suitable for your taste.

 

WONDER WOMAN

I’ve designed two Wonder Woman cocktails, Golden Lasso with fiery ginger and the other with salmiac… it’s time for WW-mocktail. Working with that ginger idea…

2 parts ginger ale (the one with the fiery ginger taste, forget bland brands)

1 part orange juice

red grenadine

Gently stir ginger ale and orange juice together in the highball glass, top with red grenadine. Add ice, garnish with orange wedges and whatever paraphernalia you find suitable.

So it’s a Shirley Temple with orange juice? Exactly! We’ve all enjoyed our S.T.’s with some added lemon twist: why not try it with other kind of citrus? Please use ale with strong ginger taste, the juice balances it pretty nice. Children usually dislike fiery ginger ale: I’ve discovered they love this mocktail… and adults, too.

 

SPIDER-MAN

In Spider-Man cocktail I used strawberry juice, arguing that Peter Parker, being a teenager of barely legal drinking age, would love a highball using that particular juice. In mocktail version I decided to stick with strawberry, but instead of easy-to-drink highball I tried something else…

4 parts coffee (let it cool down before preparing the drink)

4 parts strawberry juice

1 part Rose’s Lime Cordial

Stir with ice and strain into old fashioned glass, add some ice.

This mocktail is an effort to create “slow and ponderous drink”, kinda glass of Scotch… but alcohol-free. It really has an acquired taste, I guess you’ll have to love coffee to like this… but there it is, Spider-Man The Mocktail.

Same thing with strawberry juice here as with cranberry in Batkid: concentrate diluted 1:1 ratio. Please don’t waste your time with pre-mixed juice drink, ever.

And as with Black Mamba and Princess Python… espresso is too strong for this mocktail, please use milder brews.

 

Next time: more mocktails. But since this is a blog dedicated to superhero cocktails, I’ll introduce alcohol-based recipes also. Stay tuned.