Part three of my character craft cocktails for my writing friends! I’ve loved this opportunity to create drinks inspired by their characters.

Renee’s notes on Kaylin:

“Kaylin is a badass female lead that has no fear… for the most part anyways, since nobody is perfect. She’s a simple warrior in love with her Lieutenant. To soothe her lovetorn heart she escapes to her second love, the nearby forest. There’s nothing better than the soothing scents of the cedars and pines to relax her, except several glasses of elfwine.”

Find Renee on Twitter here.

Kaylin Cocktail

• 1 oz (30ml) Pineapple juice
• ¾ oz (22ml) Simple syrup
• 1 oz (30ml) Light Rum
• 1 oz (30ml) Hypnotiq
• Splash Seltzer
• Dash Orange bitters
• Pineapple wedge or lime slice (for garnish)

1. Combine pineapple juice, simple syrup, rum, Hypnotiq, and bitters in a shaker with ice
2. Shake, strain into highball filled with ice
3. Garnish with a pineapple wedge or lime slice.

For Sifa’s character Adam, a non-alcoholic mocktail was requested. Since his favorite color is blue, I wanted to use a tea-based mocktail in a frosty hue that also reflects his ice magic, with the herbaceous notes of mint and lemon. (For some reason, herbal notes always feel like “magic” to me). The blue color comes from dried butterfly pea flower, which can be found at specialty tea shops or online.

Sifa’s notes on Adamus:

“Adamus Aurellio is a devoted brother to his younger siblings, stepping in as a pseudo-father figure for the youngest when their father and grandfather were killed in the invasion, leaving the weight of the kingdom on his shoulders. Having always been of a serious, dutiful disposition, the sudden burden of a broken land and guilt over his part in his home’s fall drove him to work long hours in service to him.

Adamus is possessed of powerful, uncontrollable ice magic, forbidden under the imported religious doctrine. When he loses his temper or fear gets the better of him, the leash slips and the repressed magic burst free in sharp crystals that lace the air with mint. But hiding his magic degrades his organs, and doing so since his teenage years has wrought irreparable damage on his body.”

Find Sifa on Twitter here.

Adam Mocktail

• 5 oz (150ml) butterfly pea flower / mint / lemongrass tea (equal parts each)
• 1/2 oz (45ml) honey syrup
• Splash of seltzer
• Mint leaves (garnish)

1. Boil water
2. Steep mint, lemongrass, and butterfly pea flower tea. If using loose-leaf tea, they can all be steeped together. Steep well for a strong flavor.
3. Add honey syrup and stir
4. Pour into highball over a lot of ice and stir well to cool
5. Top with seltzer
6. Garnish with mint leaves (not shown)

My friends convinced me to craft a cocktail based on one of my own characters, and I took up the challenge to make a gray cocktail for the faerie Ellian in my book Cambiare. He’s smooth and flirty, and I wanted a hot drink to reflect how the fae’s body temperature runs hotter than humans.

I was successfully able to manage the gray hue, though you may need to slightly adjust the amounts of curacao, raspberry syrup, and coffee liqueur to get an even gray, depending on which brands you use or the color of your raspberries.

Ellian Cocktail

• 1 oz (30ml) blue curacao
• 3 oz (90ml) raspberry syrup (see the Vasilisa cocktail on Part 1 for the recipe)
• ¾ oz (22ml) coffee liqueur
• ¾ oz (22ml) rum
• Dash of coffee or cacao bitters
• Almond milk to fill (approx 5-8oz)
• 3 blueberries (for garnish)

1. Stir all ingredients except the almond milk and blueberries together in coffee mug
2. Top with almond milk to fill, stir.
3. Heat in microwave approximately to desired temperature (approximately 1 minute to 2 minutes depending on the size of your mug and strength of your microwave).
4. Garnish with a cocktail pick with three blueberries.

Conclusion

I had so much fun making these! Once again, thank you to my friends for letting me borrow their characters for this project!

Also check out Part 1 and Part 2!