Last time I promised to start my series of cocktails inspired by Serpent Society, focusing on female members only… so here we go.

Once all three parts are published, I’m gonna compile them in one handy compilation, and also update the megacompilation to include them. Check it out, and also other handy compilations in Recipes.

Now, let’s stick our noses to snake’s burrow…

 

ASP

How to depict Cleo Nefertiti’s paralyzing venom-bolts and the fact that she can charm snakes with her dancing, both in one drink?

4 parts vodka

3 parts lime juice

6 parts simple syrup

8 parts cream

2 to 3 parts Creme de Menthe

Shake with ice and strain into highball glass with lots of ice in it. Add straw, garnish with mint sprig.

This highball is pretty much like Mr. Freeze, one of my most praised creations… so I thought to reduce the lime to make room for the mint flavour (please feel free to cut down lime and add more Creme if you like). I think Asp is refreshing new look at “lime-and-cream”-base, please check it out.

 

If Asp The Cocktail is gentle but crafty (you don’t taste the alcohol, then it hits you… that’s my representation of “paralyzing”), the next one is even more treacherous…

 

BLACK MAMBA

“What’s this? A glass of Coke?” Nope, it’s a small dose of Darkforce!

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

3 parts Cynar

1 part Triple Sec

1 part simple syrup

Shake with ice and strain into highball glass. Add just a couple of ice cubes (don’t water it down).

Black Mamba packs sudden punch… but it’s not because of the high alcohol content, it’s the amount of coffee: it gives a delighful “jolt” 😀

About the coffee… I think espresso is wrong choice for this one, please use coffee with less intense flavour. For Finnish readers: use the same coffee you’re drinking regularly, prepared maybe little stronger than usual (Juhla Mokka, Presidentti etc.), nothing fancy here.

If you don’t have Cynar, you can substitute it with eg. Jägermeister, but then you might wanna cut down the simple syrup… and still it won’t be the same drink, yet decent. To be honest, I think Jäger is pretty awful, but that’s only my opinion… Cynar, on the other hand, is very nice, but unfortunately it might be a little hard to come by.

 

Asp and Black Mamba, two venomous snakes… maybe we’ll see constrictors next time…?

 

Please check out the TMNT recipe compilation I promised last time in Recipes and downloads.

Long time without “Girl Power part X” posts, it’s about time. The first G.P. post contained Batgirl and Supergirl, second had a cherry theme with Storm and Scarlet Witch; third offered Cheetah and my second version of Wonder Woman.

Before Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I revised Green Lantern and Thor… and now I’m about do the same with Storm. Revised Green Lantern (I call it “Hal Jordan”) contained white wine, as did all the Turtle drinks… and there’s going to be that same stuff in Storm Revisited also. But then I’m going to give a rest for white wine for a while, I promise!

 

STORM (ORORO)

I was content with my previous Storm cocktail: it’s pink, it has a cherry flavour… but even if you might mistake it as a “damsel in distress”-drink, it’s nothing but: kirschwasser gives cherry taste, sure, but that taste is raw and relentless.

Anyway, some people hoped “more serious” cocktail for Storm. Well, here it is…

1 part Campari

1 part Kahlúa

6 parts half sweet white wine

Stir with ice and strain into cocktail glass.

There’s a certain elegance in Ororo. Campari gives “dry wit”, and Kahlúa adds a element of mystery. I hope people who shun my first Storm like this one.

 

THUNDRA

So, what’s Thundra like? “Strong Femizon” might call for a powerful shot, but I decided to try something different…

6 cl (2 oz) cognac

1 cl (1/3 oz) green Chartreuse

5 cl (1 3/4 oz) Rose’s Lime Cordial

One egg white

Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with cherry.

 

Some people loathe egg white in their cocktails, so here’s a version for them…

6 parts cognac

2 parts green Chartreuse

5 parts Rose’s Lime Cordial

2 to 3 parts pineapple juice

Shake with ice, as above. Cherry pick doesn’t have to so “lady-like” as in the picture ;P

Pineapple version sure ain’t the same as the egg white version, it needs a bit more Chartreuse to retain its “bit surly” character.

 

So, two strong woman characters this time. I got a bit carried away with female heroes and villains, I’m planning to publish all Serpent Society female characters. Spring is coming, weather is finally getting warmer… so I’m tempted to design refreshing highballs, yet retaining the dangerous nature of those villains.

At least Asp is going to be published next time… and let’s see who else ;P See ya!

 

One of my Test Subjects, K., is a huge TMNT fan, and he’s been requesting relevant cocktails for a long time… so here they are, finally.

He thought that the Fantastic Four “Family of drinks”-idea was great, same theme from the first apertif to the last late night shot… and so did I when designing the recipes, and I’m going to do same thing with Turtles.

One difference to Fantastic Four… the shopping list for necessary ingredients is much shorter. Challenge for me, fewer elements to work with, and it also fits thematically: they’re teenagers, they’re not into fine nuances, they want “more bang for their buck” (If you’re teenage mutant turtle, you’re allowed to drink. If you’re human teenager, you shouldn’t be reading this in the first place).

I’m going to compile Turtle Cocktails in one handy PDF, but you’ll have to wait until the next post. I’ve updated the megacompilation, it’s now including Green Lantern and Thor revisions from the last post and these Turtle drinks. Please feel free to download it and check out the recipes: [EDIT: please check out the updated compilations in Recipes and downloads]

ONE MORE THING BEFORE TODAY’S RECIPES… I’ve changed the recommendation for Prosecco in Aquaman, Black Canary and Songbird. It used to be “dry or extra dry”, but after lengthy field tests with Test Subjects I’ve decided to go with “half sweet or half dry”. I personally enjoy versions with dry Prosecco more, but percentage of people who vote for more sweet bubbly is very high: so, recipes have been changed to meet the taste of larger audience.

 

SO, FINALLY… THE SHOPPING LIST FOR TMNT COCKTAILS: bourbon, half sweet white wine (I think 40 grams of sugar per litre is ideal in this case), Midori, Triple Sec and lime juice (optional Tabasco for “Raphael”). Limes and red cocktail cherries for garnish.

 

LEONARDO

Leonardo leads, and that’s why his cocktail is apertif: first to be enjoyed before the meal. It’s not actually “dry”, as apertif should be, but it’s “dry-ish” enough.

3 parts bourbon

2 parts Midori

6 parts half sweet white wine

1 part lime juice

Stir with ice and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with lime wedge.

You can shake the white wine, but the shaker displays its willingness to let out carbonic acid. I feel it’s easier to stir drinks with white wine.

 

DONATELLO

So, we’ve enjoyed our pizza and it’s time for dessert. Of all the Turtles, maybe Don is the one who offers most of his wise-ass hindsight; that’s why this after-dinner drink bears his name.

2 parts Triple Sec

2 parts Midori

4 to 6 parts half sweet white wine

Stir with ice and strain into old fashioned glass with some ice in it. Garnish with cherry.

4 parts wine produces nice little dessert drink; 6 parts give you more “highballish” result. Use whichever you fancy.

 

MICHELANGELO

This Turtle cocktail was voted the best by Test Subject group.

2 parts bourbon

1 part Triple Sec

1 part Midori

4 parts half sweet white wine

Stir with ice and strain into highball glass filled with ice. This drink is too strong to be highball per se, but melting ice dilutes it down without destroying the taste.

 

RAPHAEL

Yes, you knew it: of course hothead Raphael’s drink is a shot.

2 parts bourbon

1 part Midori

1 part half sweet white wine

(drop of Tabasco, if you want to emphasize hot temper)

Stir with ice and strain into shot glass.

 

There it is, folks: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. So, what’s next? Well, I think it’s been too long since our last “Girl Power”-post; Cheetah and Wonder Woman (revisited) being the last… so it’s female heroes next time! …maybe even Femizon heroes…

 

Hello, cocktail fans! It’s been almost a month since my last post, and publishing a megacompilation of cocktail recipes. Of course it’s still available, please feel free to download it from Recipes and downloads.

Two cocktails published in this post are not included in that PDF, but I’m going to update it pretty soon.

Naturally I enjoy my own recipes on regular basis, but somehow I’ve stuck to 30 or so drinks…now I’ve had time to evaluate my past creations, some of which (I’m embarassed to admit) I’ve almost forgotten.

Some were better than I remembered, but unfortunately some (when I taste them now) are pretty sketchy. I’m not going to take anything back: my friends aka. Test Subjects keep reminding me that people have different tastes, there are some published recipes I was ready to abandon but they were saved by them during our countless Tasting Nights.

Anyway, there are two superheroes who deserve another view for their cocktail…

 

GREEN LANTERN (HAL JORDAN)

I was content with my first take on Green Lantern at the time, decent use for overly-sweet Drambuie… but now I find it kind of “almost finished” cocktail recipe. So I give it another try, skipping Drambuie…

4 parts half sweet white wine

2 parts pineapple juice

1 part Pisang Ambon

Build into highball glass, add some ice. I think 40-grams-of-sugar-per-litre wine works best, so you should buy half sweet which is closer to “sweet” than “half dry”.

This is “very easy” summertime drink! Natural acid of wine should be noticeable from under pineapple’s fruitiness. Pisang Ambon should be somewhere there on the backgroung, supporting the alliance of wine and fruit. Feel free to adjust ratios for your own taste.

Actually this would be great summer punch recipe, but I think it’s too strong for that purpose… of course it’s up to each host what kind of party they want to throw…

 

So, we have a perky drink giving a promise of upcoming spring and summer… but there’s still snow here in Finland, se we have to be realistic…

 

THOR (MJOLNIR)

Remember the first Thor post? How I speculated that Thor’s cocktail should be based on some Nordic alcohol… but how aquavit has too strong flavour to be used in cocktail? How it’s probably best to drink as it is, not to mix it with anything?

Well, I decided to do it anyway! 😀 It was a bit of challenge, to appreciate aquavit’s aroma but still succesfully blend it with other alcohols.

4 parts aquavit (Läckö Slotts Aquavit strongly recommended, see below)

1 part red vermouth

1 part Grand Marnier

Stir with ice and strain into small stemmed glass. Enjoy slowly next to roaring fire, when it’s freezing outside.

I tested the recipe with many aquavit brands, including the legendary Skåne Akvavit. This recipe is final compromise, these ratios produce satisfactory result with many aquavit brands… even with Gammal Norrlands Akvavit, which I personally don’t like much (caraway, anise and fennel are traditional aquavit spices, but please keep sherry out of this).

Anyway, I (and Test Subjects) think that even if vermouth and Grand Marnier blend well with caraway used in the most aquavits, you get the best results using dill-flavoured basic component. Somehow dill associates with “salty” (I guess because of dill-flavoured crisps or fish soup with lots of dill, yummy), with sweet vermouth and liqueur the blend is nice.

Any dill-flavoured aquavit is fine (and caraway-based, too), but Läckö Slotts Aquavit is #1 choice in this one. And it’s Organic, if you find value in that (I do).

 

That’s it for now. I’m working on quartet of heroes, gonna publish all of them in one post… it’s not going to be revision of Fantastic Four, so what on earth could it be…? ;P

 

I never believed I’d made it this far. Views and feedback from around the world kept me going, Thank You All.

While publication of 100th recipe was looming in the horizon I thought there’s only one superhero candidate worthy for such a milestone… BATKID!

We all remember Miles Scott, who back in 2013 got to be Superhero for one day. Heart-warming story, and it’s essentially what superhero stories are all about: Happy endings. Miles is in remission, I wish him well, and San Francisco…erm, Gotham is a bit better place to live.

HERE’S A 47-PAGE PDF CONTAINING ALL SUPERHERO COCKTAIL RECIPES SO FAR, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DOWNLOAD IT: [EDIT: please check out the updated compilations in Recipes and downloads.]

All recipes are designed by Yours Truly, at least I couldn’t find duplicates by Googling Around. Only exceptions are Penguin, which already exists, simply as a Martini variation, and Swamp Thing (The Green): it’s almost like Green Hornet, with some variation in ratios. I designed them, found out they have been around for a long time, but decided to publish them anyway (since they describe the comic book character so well).

Ladies and Gentlemen, I proudly present the 100th cocktail recipe in this blog…

 

BATKID (aka. “Miles Scott reaching legal drinking age”, aka. CAPED CRUSADER)

4 parts extra dry vermouth

3 parts gin

4 parts cherry juice

12 parts Coca-Cola

Build into highball glass, add ice. Garnish with lemon wedge (Bat Signal), add straw. Make a toast for childish fun, for children’s feelings are the most genuine.

As always… for cherry juice use high quality concentrate, diluted with water 1:1 ratio instead of recommended (usually 1:3 or 1:4).

If you like this drink’s concept, Coke with berry juice and certain alcohols balancing them out, you should check out The Punisher. And for a whole different approach to Batman, try Dark Knight. My very first post contains another Batman highball, Silent Guardian.

 

After 15 months and 100 recipes I’m pretty much out of ideas… I’m going to withdraw for a while; to gather my thoughts, to go through tons of paper scribbled with recipe drafts… but I’ll be back 😀

Please download the PDF and check out the recipes! Cheers!

 

This is the third and the last of our Watchmen cocktail series. Next time it’s time for the 100th superhero cocktail recipe! Wow, I never thought I’d make it that far! 😀

 

DR. MANHATTAN

Being a very powerful character (to put it mildly), Dr. Manhattan follows the same suite as Magneto, Galactus and Spectre: powerful characters are best represented with strong drinks.

-3 parts gin

-2 parts Maraschino Luxardo

-1 part Blue Curacao

-dash of Tabasco

Shake ingedients with ice and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with glow sticks, pop candy (before serving pour in a pinch to create Intrinsic Field Subtractor crackle) etc.etc.

I think it’s ok. Dryness of the gin blend with sweetness of Luxardo, creating interesting mix… and Tabasco creeps in afterwards, adding to whole gestalt.

 

NITE OWL

This cocktails is inspired by “Archie” and owls in general… mysterious birds of the night. Mixture of sweet and salty, that should do the trick.

-4 parts extra dry vermouth

-2 parts Heering

-1 part gin

-water from olive can, few spoons

Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with couple of olives.

If you like this recipe, you should also try out Dirty Devil. Not a superhero cocktail, actually not even invention of mine, but fine cocktail for olive lovers.

Heering is always a good buy. In addition to legendary Singapore Sling you can use it for Batgirl.

 

That concludes our Watchmen cocktail series. As I said… next time I’ll publish my 100th recipe! I’m going to compose them all into one massive download, so it might take a little longer than usual week to meet you again.

Until then… bottoms up! 😀

 

Hello again. It took me a while, but here are today’s Watchmen cocktails…

 

OZYMANDIAS

There are actually three versions of this cocktail…

Ozymandias, before Watchmen story…

-4 parts Lillet Blanc

-1 part bourbon (Jim Beam recommended)

Ozymandias, during Watchmen story…

-4 parts Lillet Blanc

-1 part bourbon (Jim Beam)

-1 part Kirschwasser

Ozymandias, after Watchmen story…

-6 parts Lillet Blanc

-1 part Kirschwasser

All versions: shake with ice and strain into suitable glass, half-filled with crushed ice.

So… before his plan Ozymandias is “hero”: distant, maybe little arrogant, but still hero. Then the plan takes form, and he turns more sinister character. And after the Watchmen story… he is still “good” (?), but very different person.

Bottle of Lillet Blanc stays okay for about two weeks after opening, so in addition to Ozymandias you might want to try my other Lillet cocktails: Wolverine, Bumblebee and Wasp, and of course, even if it is not my own invention, French Intervention.

 

RORSCHACH

-4 parts cream liqueur (eg. Bailey’s)

-2 Aperol

-1 to 2 parts Bourbon

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

This drink has the same philosophy as Comedian, “Rotten American Dream”. They are not, however, identical drinks: Midori creates weird “gone bad” feel in Comedian, Aperol’s bitter in Rorschach is outright “mental”.

Okay, enjoy your drinks. See you in a week or so 😀

 

This is the first part of tripartite Watchmen Special. Without further delay…

 

COMEDIAN

-2 parts cream liqueur (Dooley’s recommended)

-2 parts Midori

-1 part blanco tequila (100% puro de agave recommended)

Shake with ice and strain into old fashioned glass with some ice in it.

I’ve designed cocktails inspired by twisted lawmen before… The Punisher and Marshal Law. Both of them use Amaretto di Saronno, mixed with appropriate elements, to give “the feel” of bitter temper and unstable mind… I didn’t want to repeat myself, so I explored another way to “describe” a personality who is just so tired of it all; to whom everything is just a big joke… and there’s bonus in using Midori: it gives the drink faint green tint, sort of “Rotten American Dream”-feel (not just in the looks, also in the taste).

 

SILK SPECTRE

-2 parts licorice vodka

-1 part Triple Sec

-3 parts orange juice

-2 parts simple syrup

-2 parts cream

Shake with ice and strain into highball glass halfway filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a straw and, if you want, with orange wedge.

How to produce licorice vodka? It’s very simple, just follow the instructions in Harley Quinn… Oh My, I’ve been writing this blog for over a year now! And we’re approaching The 100th Superhero Cocktail Recipe!!!

Anyway… Silk Spectre might seem like an easy drink, harmless milkshake… but there’s a surprise. The drink packs a punch, like it’s paragon. If you like this one, you should try Phoenix also.

[EDIT: please check out newer and better version of this drink here]

More Watchmen next week! Take care!

 

It’s January, soon February… it’s cold and dark…

…it’s a great time for spontaneous drinking binge! You know, just to keep you warm.

This time I’ll publish only shot recipes. You know, just to be digested as a schnapps before a meal. And with that meal you can enjoy eg. Thor or Wolverine. You know, just to wash down the food.

COLOSSUS

“Zdravstvui, tovarishch! Greetings from Ust-Ordynsky Collective! Here in Siberia we do not do no fancy drinks, we keep it simple. Za vaŝe zdorovje!”

-vodka

-Gammel Dansk, around 1 teaspoon per 4cl (1 1/2 oz) of vodka

-few drops of Blue Curacao

Shake with ice and strain into shot glass. Shoot, no sipping!

This is actually pretty delicate drink (at least I think so). Usually vodka is used as “tasteless ethanol” to give voltage to cocktail without affecting overall aroma… in “Colossus” you actually can taste vodka (especially if you didn’t shake it too cold, and used high quality vodka, eg. pictured Russian Standard). Gammel Dansk adds “socialist realism” (as does Fernet Branca in Black Widow), and Blue Curacao softens that bitterness little bit… and it also adjusts colour to “Siberian Arctic”… or windshield detergent ;P

IRON MAN

-1 part gin

-1 part Amaretto di Saronno

-2 parts tomato juice

Shake with ice and strain into shot glass.

Yes, I know: it tastes… synthetic? …kinda “mechanical”? Exactly! The suit makes the Iron Man, that’s why I was looking for “technical” taste. Amaretto is the main ingredient in creating this taste, that liqueur is great for generating eerie undertones (as we saw in The Punisher).

Also… Tony Stark has a tendency for uncontollable drinking (that’s why the drink named after him is A SHOT), I’m quite sure he has been gulping quite a few Bloody Marys during his life, to cope with earthshaking hangovers. That’s why I used tomato juice, essential ingredient of Bloody Mary… and the red also matches with the suit’s colour theme.

 

I hope these drinks help you to keep warm during cold winter… more warming recipes next time. See you then!

 

I thought I would have spilled all my “African nature”-inspiration into Black Panther and Gorilla Grodd, and of course into two non-superhero cocktail recipes, Punishment Island and Pygmy Dance… but there’s still some spark left…

This time both drinks utilize carrot juice. It’s pretty decent ingredient when used properly… and I’ve used it only in Human Torch and in two versions of Thing. Let’s see what we can create this time…

ANIMAL MAN

Late 80’s Animal Man really rocks, thanks to Grant Morrison (and Brian Bolland for the covers)!

How to capture Buddy Baker’s “essence” in a cocktail? All those animal powers, how to represent them… some sort of jumble with kwazillion elements…?

I tried few ideas, and they ended up just as you might expect from the muddle of million liqueurs… I banished them all from my pile of recipe drafts, and decided to create something simple and elegant instead.

So here it is, simple and straightforward highball… and it’s orange, just like Animal Man’s tights 😀

-2 parts extra dry vermouth

-1 part carrot juice

-1 part orange juice

-1 part Rose’s Lime Cordial

Shake with ice and strain into highball glass with some ice in it. If you want to garnish the drink, use orange wedge with blue parasol and blue straw (to complete Animal Man’s colour theme).

If you yearn for more kick, simply add vermouth.

[EDIT: new version of Animal Man available here. ]

In the case you find “Animal Man” tasty, you should check out Rogue: it also utilizes dry vermouth’s distinctive sting.

To counterbalance mild highball next one is nothing but mild…

TIGRA

She’s wild, she’s dangerous, her drink rips your throat (or head) if you’re not careful. The drink looks peaceful and harmless, little glass of orange juice… but she attacks you suddenly, like a lightning! Be warned, this drink requires “acquired taste”.

My vision of “Tigra The Cocktail” is more like a bunch of suggestions instead of one recipe, start exploring with this one…

-3 parts bourbon

-1 parts Green Chartreuse

-2 part carrot juice

Shake with ice and strain into old fashioned glass with some ice in it.

And here are the options…

-Too strong? Add carrot juice (please don’t tamper with bourbon/Chartreuse-ratio)

-Too harsh? Add some simple syrup.

-Too much anise? Select another drink ;P

-Too little anise? Add a dash of absinth.

I admit, this drink probably has very narrow audience… but there, I published it; not every cocktail has to appeal to large crowds.

That’s it for today. Something different next week… and it’s not jungle/animal-related, I promise.