Keep the blood-starved beasts of the world at bay with this whisky-based take on a New York Sour.
You’ll need
- 2 oz (60ml) Thomson Two-Tone whisky
- .50 oz (15ml) lemon juice
- .75 oz (20ml) simple syrup
- .50 oz (15ml) mulled Shiraz
Add the whisky, lemon juice and simple syrup into a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Layer the mulled wine over the top.
“Blood. It’s always been about blood. Blood within, blood without, blood in the bottles and in the veins. Blood. Nothing but gore and flesh and tearing and blood, blood, blood, blood…”
– Unknown Hunter
I have a confession to make. I’m not actually very good at video games. I’m alright, I guess; I can hold my own in Apex Legends and I don’t die at the first boss in most RPGs, but compared to some folk, I’m in desperate need of some Git Gud juice.
There’s no better example of that than me playing Bloodborne. Much like Dark Souls, the learning curve is very steep—and you don’t even get shields to hide behind (my tactic of choice when I’m backpedalling like a coward).
The game does give you a few items that ease the difficulty through proper application of cheese tactics though. For example, I was finding it hard to beat the Blood-Starved Beast until I realised that Pungent Blood Cocktails would distract it while I beat on them. Suddenly, that boss fight wasn’t quite so frustrating any more.
I’m clearly not the only one who loves this handy little item, as soon after my discovery, my friend and Dungeon Master Sam Mannell AKA Cryptic Parlour of Friday Night Dice asked me to recreate this drink on Experience Bar.
The result is what you see above: a layered, bloody, whisky-based beverage to put a little fight back in your bones when the bosses get a little too tough.
More of a Dark Souls fan? Try the Estus instead.
Experienced bartenders will have noticed that this is based around a New York sour, with a couple of the ingredients swapped out: the whisky has replaced the bourbon, and mulled wine has replaced the regular wine.
I’m not usually so specific when it comes to my choice of ingredients in terms of producer. I just let you guys pick your favourite whisky or bourbon or vodka or gin or whatever. But for this drink, it’s real important to get the right base spirit, and Thomson Two-Tone is the bottle I’d recommend reaching for.
It’s a New Zealand blended whisky made from spirits aged in two separate barrels—one of which is an ex-red-wine barrel. This gives it these red fruit and spice flavours that match up wonderfully with the mulled wine.
If you can’t get at it (and I don’t blame you if you can’t; I’m lucky enough to live in the same country in which it’s made), you can also try using a regular bourbon. I tried it with Wild Turkey, and while it wasn’t quite as interesting, it was definitely still tasty.
The swapping out of the wine for mulled wine makes the drink more aromatic—or, perhaps more suitably, more pungent. Typical New York Sours are deceptively complex drinks. The combo of the wine and the bourbon with the layering creates a drink that changes as you sip. This version doubles down on that by introducing more bold spice flavours.
If you choose to mull your own wine to make this drink, just stick to the basics: a pinch of nutmeg, a pinch of allspice, a pinch of ground ginger, a few cloves, that sort of thing. You don’t want to overpower everything else with the mulling spices. And don’t add extra sugar either: you won’t be able to layer it as easily otherwise.
So there it is! The Pungent Blood Cocktail from Bloodborne. Here’s hoping it helps you keep the blood-starved beasts of the world at bay. Cheers to you, Hunter.
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!
