Jef Aldrich - Düngeonmeister: 75 Epic RPG Cocktail Recipes to Shake Up Your Campaign

Welcome to Dngeonmeister, a book where fantasy role-playing meets cocktail craft. One of the greatest things about role-playing is the way that it brings people together. A group of adults with different schedules all making time to get together and gather around a table is a kind of magic in and of itself. So we thought, why not make those get-togethers a true event with themed drinks to entertain and amuse your fellow players? Whether youre new to role-playing games or a grognard whos played for years, you can find the right drink (or drinks) for you. You dont even need to be role-playing. You can be the big hero at any nerdy get-together for board game nights, movie night, or even a simple hangout.

In this book, you will find seventy-five drink recipes: an assortment of different flavors and types of drinks, shots, punches, and cocktails. There should be something for everyone at the table: from those who want their drinks sweet and fruity, to those who want a spicy or bitter sharpness, and even those who just want to be able to min-max their alcohol consumption. Weve included a section that tells you what basic alcohols and bar tools youll need to keep yourself and your fellow gamers in tip-top condition. Weve also included humorous sidebars for all of our recipes to provide plenty of entertainment and mirth.

Weve added a handy Complexity rating on the different recipes so youll know how much effort goes into them. Not everyone is willing to break out the blender or lovingly craft their own honey syrup. The lower-Complexity recipes just require the ingredients you plan to mix together and maybe a shaker to mix them all up. For the adventurous sort who wants to dive right into the deep end, our high-Complexity drinks will have you brewing your own tea or special-ordering powders for those mesmerizing special effects.

The books eight chapters range from characters to classes to skillsplenty of room for you to match your drink to the phase of the game youre in. For instance, if youre rolling up a dwarven bard, you might want to have a Dwarven Forge by your elbow. If youre struggling through a dank swamp, pursued by rotting zombies, sipping a Black Mana will probably make you feel better (although you still better outrun the zombies).

So come along! Dont stand at the back of the party. Its time to eat, drink, and roll d20s.

Its only natural that epic quests begin in taverns. Theres a sense of camaraderie; warmth from the hearth; simple, well-cooked meals; and, of course, copious tankards of fortifying alcohol. Its a rookie mistake to take these simple pleasures for granted, and if youre feeling like taking your game up to the next level of realistic verisimilitude, then why not set up your own pregame tavern? With our help, youll be slinging characterful cocktails and potent potions that help infuse a little more spirit (and a little more spirits) into your dungeon adventures.

In this section youll find:

• The basic alcohols you need for the drinks in this book
• A list of mixers
• The essential bar tools to make drinks

With all this, youll be ready to plunge right in (so to speak!) to the drinks in the rest of the book. But what should your tavern include (besides plenty of adventurers and mysterious old men muttering to themselves in a corner)?

All effective bars begin with a collection of spirits that forms the basis of mixology. Perhaps while setting up a place for dwarves or half-orcs, one can get away with ales ranging from strong to unpleasant, but if plans stray toward entertaining other players at the tavern table, its best to start with a collection of the classics. Otherwise youll find yourself in the unenviable position of trying to sling glasses of orange juice and sweet and sour mix to less than appreciative patrons and friends.

Vodka is invariably the most used spirit in the bar. Its the go-to for cocktail making, and youll find it in a majority of cocktail recipes. Distilled most commonly from grain or potato starch (but in reality can be made from nearly anything floral), vodkas claim to fame is a lack of flavor, meaning it can add a kick without adding a note.

Gin, similar to vodka, is a distilled spirit, though instead of lacking flavor, it has a lot of potential flavors. Gin is an exceptionally broad category of like spirits, which all feature juniper berry as a flavor note in common (and often not much else). Youll note throughout this guide that above any other basic spirit, gin is accompanied by the most type restrictions. In most recipes that call for gin, you can use any type you wantthe exception being sloe gin. Blue or sapphire gin is a color choice. Sloe gin, however, is flavored by a sour little blue fruit known as a blackthorn, which changes its flavor profile from other gin immensely, and also makes it the alcohol with the best flavor profile to steal for character names. Unless otherwise noted, recipes that call for gin can use any gin you have on hand. If the recipe calls for something more specific, well be sure to say so.

Through the power of sugarcane (molasses or syrup), rum picks up deep, toasty sugar flavors. Beyond this, it can be difficult to ascribe any major catchall descriptions to rum, in no small part because few countries can agree on what rum even is! For our purposes, rum is generally either silver (clear) or spiced (some variation of a darker gold or caramel). It is also the perfect libation to add authenticity to adventures set on the high seas. Just keep it away from the powder barrels, please.

Most of the major spirits can be made from a variety of source ingredients. Such is not the case with tequila, distilled from primarily blue agave, and made only in Mexico. This specificity lends tequila a collection of stereotypes, most of which are unearned. While cheap mass-produced tequilas can be harsh and unpleasant, there are also exceptional blends and distillations so fine and smooth they are best served straight for sipping.

Much like gin, whiskey is so varied in tone, flavor, ingredients, and profile that it can be hard to know what sort to add to a drink. Speaking most generally, whiskey is a spirit made from fermenting grain mash, generally aged in wooden barrels or casks to develop maturity, color, and flavor. Ever wonder about the difference between whiskey and whisky? Us too. Someone probably answers that in a book somewhere.

Most of the simple mixers youll want on hand for a cocktail tavern party are self-explanatory. Juices, milk, soft drinks, and the like require little explanation. Wed still provide one for each, but unlike RPG authors we dont get paid by the word, so you figure those mixers out. Following is a guide to basic syrups that can be easily made at home, as well as a few of the more esoteric ingredients found in this book.

This common mix-in couldnt be easier to get set up in your home bar tool kit. Its just equal parts granulated sugar and water, simmered and stirred until the sugar is dissolved, and then stored in the refrigerator until its called for. Thats it. Thats the entire recipe.

Complex Syrup