“Well, this is childish…” (Bamse, Super Goof, with mocktail versions)

Is reading superhero comics a childish thing to do? As a nerd in my late 40’s I’d say “probably yes”… and that’s the beauty of them. It doesn’t matter if it’s cosmic struggle between Green and Yellow Lantern Corps or extremely dark Punisher MAX story; Fantastic Four saving the world from Galactus once again or chain-smoking John Constantine getting drunk and laid while escaping the latest demon he’s managed to get pissed off… it’s childish, and it’s the best way to relax.

Today’s cocktail superheroes are not just childish, they are clearly targeted just for child readers. Alcoholic versions are available, since this is a cocktail blog… but mocktail versions for both Bamse and Super Goof are added to the mocktail compilation, please check it out in Recipes and downloads.

Without further delay, onto the today’s first drink…

 

SUPER GOOF

1 part reposado/gold tequila or Skittles tequila

2 parts Bols Pome granate

4 parts apple juice

(dash of lemon juice)

Shake with ice and strain into a highball glass with some ice in it. Add a straw, serve with peanuts.

Reposado/gold tequila works fine, but it’s better with Skittles tequila.

My guideline for Super Goof The Cocktail: its taste must make you crave for peanuts (magical or regular) ;P

Well, I think I found a combo that works… Bols Pome granate has simple, infantile and sweet taste: pretty boring, actually, but if you combine it with a kick of tequila it gets interesting (tequila blanco is too sharp for this purpose). Apple juice is pretty neutral way to “stretch” the drink to a highball; please don’t introduce too much lemon juice (if any), since you’re supposed to start craving for peanuts… trust me, you will 😀

 

SUPER GOOF, MOCKTAIL VERSION

5 parts apple juice

1 part red grenadine/pomegranate syrup, 2 parts if you have a sweet tooth

dash or two of lemon juice (depends on the amount of grenadine/syrup)

Shake with ice, as above. This is much sweeter than alcoholic version, so please make sure you’ve bought another bag of peanuts.

 

Bamse, The Strongest Bear in The World… actually I’m not sure how widely this comic book character is known around the world. I read them as a small child, now it seems the character has experienced a renaissance, animated movie and all, so I guess the Nordic readers are not the only ones who recognize this character…

What is he holding? “Dunder Honung” translates to “Thunder Honey”. Normally Bamse wanders around as a regular bear/teddybear, no special powers (of course he’s wise and just all the time). When the need arises, he gulps down the jar of Thunder Honey and gets the enormous strenght: naturally the strenght is not used to beat up the bad guys, but to fix the damage done and make them understand their evil ways. Luckily, baddies always seem to repent in the end and became buddies with Bamse 😀

So, honey it is!

 

BAMSE, THE STRONGEST BEAR IN THE WORLD

10 parts lager

up to 1 part lemon juice

1 (or more) part honey

up to 1 part Strega

(1 or more parts aquavit)

Build into a suitable tankard, you’ll need to do some stirring when adding honey. I recommed adding ice, even if you normally loathe them in beer cocktails.

Strega is the element which turns this shebang into The Thunder Honey. Italian liqueur with intensely “violent” taste, fittingly named: “strega” is Italian for “witch”. Clearly not meant to be consumed on its own (except maybe with a lot of ice), but adding a small amount of Strega invigorates even the dullest drink; which Bamse would be, without it.

Adding aquavit is optional… but if you yearn for a little more kick, go for it. And since Bamse is created in Sweden, I think its appropriate to add some anyway. By the way, you can use aquavit for Thor (Mjolnir) also.

 

BAMSE, lower alcohol content version

Simply replace regular lager with alcohol-free version. The drink will still have some “voltage” because of Strega, but considerably less. Basically tastes the same. Good choice if you’re a designated driver and have a quota for one low-alcohol drink which you want to enjoy slowly.

 

BAMSE, mocktail version

4 parts apple juice

1 part honey

1 part lemon juice

Shake with ice and strain into a small glass with quite a lot of ice in it. Adding a straw is good idea since honey tends to trickle down to the bottom, the drink might need occasional stirring. I guess the right colour for the straw is blue, matches Bamse’s dungarees.

Please keep those glasses small. No Strega on this one, but “The Thunder” comes from honey and lemon: delightful in small amounts, gets outright abhorrent if the serving is too large. No large tankards with this one.

 

BAMSE, mocktail version with alcohol-free beer

10 parts alcohol-free lager

up to 1 part lemon juice

1 part (or more) honey

Build into a suitable tankard, you’ll need to do some stirring when adding honey. Adding ice is optional.

So, this is the dull version… Bamse’s “Honey” without “The Thunder”.  It adds some character to plain (alcohol-free) lager, so it’s there if you wanna check it out.

 

Both Super Goof and Bamse get their powers when they eat something… so what about good ol’ spinach-gulping Popeye? I’ve been thinking about that sailor earlier, but scrapped the idea, decided to focus on “the real superheroes”… but after today’s cocktails and mocktails I’m forced to publish Popeye The Cocktail also, someday.

Anyway, he has to wait for his namesake drink; it’s going to be published in the future, but next time we’ll check out couple of superheroines. We’ve seen them before, but they deserve another cocktail bearing their name… ;P