How to make your own Witcher potions

UPDATE 8/2/2020: There are 3 new and improved recipes for Swallow, Cat and Tawny Owl. Go check them out!

Witcher potion are so powerful and toxic they would kill a normal person. Only the Witchers’ mutated biology provides the metabolism to withstand the toxins produced. But, with a few tweaks to the original Witcher drinks, even the average person can enjoy the benefits of these elixirs – without horribly dying.

Steel yourself against the coming night with these Witcher-inspired cocktails – but remember to drink responsibly!

Swallow

Swallow accelerates healing in the mutated Witcher body. In yours, it will get you back on your feet after a heavy night out.

You’ll need

• 2 oz (60ml) vodka
• 4 oz (120ml) tomato juice
• 1 oz (30ml) simple syrup
• 1 dash Worcester sauce
• 1 dash Tabasco sauce

Place all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Stir to combine. Strain neat into your potion vessel.

Considering the hangover-curing capabilities of a Bloody Mary, I thought it an appropriate replication of the healing potions of the Witchers. I added a little sugar to make it a bit more palatable to throw back in one go.

In-game, you’d need to gather up and, presumably, liquefy a few drowner brains, but a good thick tomato juice is a decent replacement.

Blizzard

This potion accelerates the already-fast reactions of a Witcher to superhuman levels. For us, it’s more of a citrus wake-up call.

You’ll need

• 2 oz vodka
• 1 oz blue curacao
• 3/4 oz lemon juice

Place all ingredients into a cooled shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously. Pour carefully into your chilled vessel.

If you don’t have blue curacao, you can substitute triple sec and use blue food dye. It’s not quite the same, but it’ll do in a pinch.

In-game, this potion is made with an obsidian golem heart: literally a rock that is crushed up, mixed into alcohol, and drank. That would be unpleasant enough, but if you also consider how obsidian is ultra-sharp, it goes from nasty to deadly. Clearly, the Witchers’ regenerative capabilities are pretty damn impressive.

If you want to replicate the look of the obsidian heart, you’d want to mix in some shimmer dust (demonstrated in the Potion of Healing from DnD) or, alternatively, some edible silver leaf if you’re feeling extra fancy.

White Honey

If you feel like there is too much toxicity in your day, White Honey will put a little bit of sweetness back in your life.

You’ll need

• 2 oz (60ml) whisky
• 3/4 oz (20ml) honey simple syrup
• 1/2 oz (15ml) lemon juice
• cinnamon stick

Add all ingredients to a pan and heat gently until just above blood temperature. Pour into your vessel and serve.

In-game, the White Honey potion removes toxicity from a Witcher’s body and can also strip away the effects of other potions. The real life White Honey cocktail does something similar; it’s hard to feel crap when you’re sipping on this warm, sweet and tasty beverage – but it’s also probably not going to make you want to drink more booze. It’s very rich.

End your night of combat against the monsters with this, rather than start it.

Tawny Owl

Fighting monsters is hard work. Tawny Owl helps keep you awake with a caffeine and sugar hit.

You’ll need

• 1 oz (30ml) vodka
• 1/2 oz (15ml) blue curacao
• 1/2 oz (15ml) grenadine
• Red Bull

Combine vodka, curacao and grenadine in a clear vessel. Adjust grenadine and blue curacao levels until you get a purple hue. Pour into shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously. Either pour into potion vessel and top up with Red Bull or add Red Bull to taste and pour into potion vessel.

In-game, players are faced with the decision of using their stamina/endurance to block incoming strikes, use special physical attacks or cast Signs. The Tawny Owl potion lets you do it all by boosting your stamina regeneration.

In real life, Red Bull and a kick of sugar gives you the same advantage; though it won’t give you the ability to use Signs, I’m afraid. Try to use a vial or a champagne flute for this; you want the purple to shine through, and the best way to achieve that is with a thin vessel.

Cat

The most iconic potion of them all, Cat lets Witchers chase monsters down into their lairs with perfect darkvision. We can’t promise it’ll do that for you, but the tropical flavours will certainly put you in a brighter frame of mind.

You’ll need

• 1 oz (30ml) rum
• 1 oz (30ml) Midori
• 1/2 oz (15ml) lemon juice
• lemonade

Combine rum and Midori in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously. Add dash lemon juice. Either top up with lemonade to taste and add to potion vessel or add to potion vessel and top up with lemonade.

Midori and rum are a great combo, and with the Cat potion you have a choice between using a darker rum for something a bit more interesting flavour-wise, or going in the opposite direction and using a white or coconut rum (such as Bacardi) for something lighter and more tropical.

In-game, this Witcher potion is made with berbercane fruit, which appears to be either cherries or plums. But in order to get the bright green of the potion, we substituted with Midori. Try using clear cherry juice for this Witcher inspired cocktail instead of the lemonade, if you can find it, or cherry schnapps in place of the rum.

White Raffard’s Decoction

Feeling a little run down? Need some more vitality? Then mix up White Raffard’s Decoction – it’ll set you right.

You’ll need

• 1 oz (30ml) vodka
• 1/2 oz (15ml) coffee liqueur
• Cola

Combine vodka and coffee liqueur in shaker with ice. Stir to combine, then top up with cola. Strain into potion vessel.

White Raffard’s Decoction is, ironically, actually very dark. Perfect for a Witcher’s take on a Black Russian. I must admit, this is my favourite of the bunch, simply because I love coffee liqueur in a cocktail.

A Witcher with low vitality very quickly becomes a dead Witcher, so this potion/cocktail is perfect for picking you up when you’re feeling low – or preparing you for a big fight ahead. Be careful with the cola though, as the carbonation can make the cork pop off if you keep it sealed for too long.

If you want to keep seeing video-game-inspired cocktails and get a hold of some exclusive recipes, head on over to Experience Bar’s Patreon page and consider slinging me a credit or two. You help keep this blog going!