An official cocktail recipe reborn with bourbon, cranberry, amaretto and Campari.
You’ll need
- 2oz (60ml) bourbon
- 0.5oz (15ml) cranberry juice
- 0.5oz (15ml) amaretto
- 0.5oz (15ml) Campari
Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake thoroughly to chill. Strain into your chosen vessel. Serve!
“Made from the red, ground-up leaves of a plant what still grows in cracks and corners, fighting the Root just like we are. Sometimes the hardiest plants are what keep you hardy.”
– In-game description of Bloodwort
It’s not often that drinks from video games already have their own real life version: I’d be out of a niche it they were. But this is the exception, as the Remnants team have already released their own official cocktail for Bloodwort. And many of their other drinks, in fact. Congrats to them for beating me to the punch! Here’s their version:
- 1 part Canadian whiskey
- 1 part American whiskey
- 2 parts cranberry juice
- 1 part Amaretto
I gave it a try, and it was good – but I thought it could be better. It didn’t taste like a drink made from “red leaves” that flourish in the dark places of the world, so I made a few adjustments.
First, we ditched the split whiskies and stuck with just bourbon. When you’re using flavourful ingredients like cranberry juice and amaretto, you’re going to miss the subtleties of a ‘split spirit’ drink. Plus it’s one less bottle to buy.
Next, we cut down on the amaretto and the cranberry juice. They were dominating the drink and making it far too sweet. Reducing them both back down to .50 oz each means you keep the fruit/nut interplay, but avoid it being nothing but that.
Curious about turning fictional drinks into real ones? Check out my ‘treatise’ on picking out sujamma from The Elder Scrolls with the Cliff Racer.
Last, we added a new ingredient: Campari. This is because Bloodwort actually exists in real life as a bitter liqueur called Blutworz from Germany. Better yet, it’s made from roots. I wanted to make a drink that featured it, but it’s very hard to get a hold of outside of Germany. Instead we subbed some Campari which a) is easier to get, b) transfers a lovely red hue and c) gives it that bitter flavour that you’d expect of something medicinal.
You’re left with a drink that has a little more complexity than the official version. It has more mature flavours rather than just nut and fruit and sweetness. But if you like fruit and nut and sweet, feel free to stick with the official! They’re both nice in their own way. But I think you can guess which I prefer to have on me when fighting the Root…
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