Steampunk Cocktails!

At last... we had our long-awaited Steampunk-themed cocktail night on Friday. This week took more preparation than usual and you are about to see why! Steampunk is a name given to a new fad (for lack of a better word) that represents Victorian era science fiction-- with a huge hat tip to the industrial revolution. Steam, smoke, grime, motors, machines, monsters... anything goes really, as long as it has a Victorian tinge.
I squeezed myself into my costume (I like to think of as a professional blackmailer), and Arjen (the dodo farmer) donned his cravat and tophat. We were delighted to see both Judith and Remco appear in costume...

So the stage was set for some really DIFFERENT cocktails! But what do we with the Steampunk theme?

Our first drink was one of Arjen's inspirations: a non-alchoholic WONDER. The inspiration was one of our friend's, Rory Raven, who is a mentalist and a fellow Lovecraftian, and a generally awesome guy who happens to love all the same geeky things that we do. Since Rory's not a drinker, this drink had to have a tea base, be exotic, very english-- and it also had to FEEL like Steampunk. Arjen came up with an amazing cold drink that blended the very fragrant, earthy lapsang souchong with anise.

And of course there had to be a hypnotic swirl on top...

We did it in chocolate syrup, but it might have been even more perfect if it we had the time to make a stencil and sugar black or red sugar through the stencil onto the forth. In any case it was the best coffee/tea drink I've ever had.

I think you have to like Lapsing Souchang to like this drink, but if you do... do not hesitate - get into the kitchen and make it!

The Rory Raven:
- make one liter of STRONG Lapsing Souchang
- flavor with 4 cubes aniseed flavored sugar cubes
- add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
- let cool
- pour over ice
- add some slightly whipped cream on top (over the back of a spoon so it sits on top)
- add swirl of chocolate sauce

And make SURE to take a look at his site for all your reading/mind reading needs:

www.roryraven.com

The next drink was something completely different and also delicious! Astrid made a fruity apple-based drink with a cinnamon kick- it really did taste like a liquid apple pie. She wanted to make something that combined German industriousness with something English. So, she ended up combining ice tea (for the English) and apfelkorn. Delicious!

The Jerry Can Can
(makes 5 glasses)
- 450 ml boiled water
- 2 earl grey tea bags (it's about double the strength)
- add a teaspoon (or less after taste) of ground cinnamon
- leave tea to set
- remove tea bags after 10 mins and put the tea in the fridge to cool
- add a big squeeze of lemon juice (about two table spoons)
- add 250 ml apfelkorn (apple liquor)
- shake over ice
- decorate with a cinnamon stick
***for the virgin cocktail you can replace apfelkorn by ordinary apple juice

For extra steampunk bling, drink this drink through a gas mask...

And naturally, we were all going out of our minds wondering what would be next...?

Judith came center stage with a duo of drinks that were not only visually PERFECT for the theme, but were wonderfully tasty as well! This presentation could not be beaten...

Wires... bulbs... gears...

... and little dancing stars cut out of ginger that fizzed around the glass like little dynamos!

The artist/inventor sipping her creation...

The Skycaptain's Maiden Voyage
(non-alchoholic)
- Rivella Softdrink
- Squeeze of limejuice
- Small stars of fresh ginger

And the...
The Skycaptain's Last Revenge
- 1 ounce of wodka
- 1 ounce of Quarant-Y-Tres
- 2 ounces of Rivella
- Squeeze of limejuice
- Small stars of fresh ginger

And then Arjen came back with another tremendous duo: The Engineer and the Oil Rag...

A drink that began with a shot of salty licorice vodka shot chased by an ale.


The Oil Rag:
(preparation)
- using 300 ml vodka
- add a handful of laurel-flavored licorice
- add 5 bay leaves
- leave for a WEEK (shaking every now and then)
- pour into shot glass and serve with glass of ale (the Engineer)(McEwan's would be best)

And now for something completely shocking... the Absinthe (doesn't deserve it's reputation and not the same drink it USED to be!)

To Serve Absinthe
- add absinthe to a wine glass
- balance a fork on top
- put a sugar cube on it
- slowly pour 45 mill of ice cold water on the ice cube to slowly dissolve it
- drink!
- add WONDERFUL Steampunky characters like Judith made to the lips of the glasses to make them even more festive!

The drink will turn a lovely jade green with the sugar mixes with it...

Sugar Cube balancing on fork...

In short, it was a really magical evening, and we were all transported (to varying degrees)! Here are some of the other photos of the eve!