- Mezcal
The Short Stormtrooper
A Star Wars cocktail inspired by Luke Skywalker that's built around a white dragon fruit syrup mixed with smoky mezcal, citrus, tropical bitters, and colored curaçao for a blue glow
Get geeky with these cocktail recipes inspired by your favorite fandoms.
Hello there! I’m Kendall, the craft cocktail connoisseur and geeky drinks enthusiast behind Novel Nightcaps.
After several years of taste-testing my way through my library of cocktail books—exploring everything from timeless classics to modern riffs and seasonal creations—I found my niche in geeky drinks: the ones inspired by fandoms, literature, pop culture, and fantasy that invite a bit of magic into the glass. Now, whether I’m dreaming up a new concoction based on an author’s fictional world or unearthing a past bartender’s oddball experiment, my favorite part of bartending is diving into ingredient pairings with unique origin stories that make them fun to revisit again and again.
Here within my recipe archive, you’ll find hundreds of cocktails I’ve tried (and some originals I’ve developed myself), complete with histories, techniques, and tasting notes—all written for fellow imbibers who appreciate well-crafted drinks and the story behind them too.
Cheers,
If geeky drinks aren’t your thing, check out a few of the highest-rated vintage, modern, and seasonal cocktail recipes I’ve tried.
A tiki cocktail made with gin, orgeat syrup, lemon juice, orange bitters, and mint
A spring cocktail made with botanical spirit, heavy cream, lavender syrup, egg white, honey syrup, and lavender
A New Year’s Eve cocktail made with sparkling wine, brandy, pear liqueur, aromatic bitters, and lemon
A modern cocktail made with mezcal, pear liqueur, lemon juice, spiced demerara syrup, and aromatic bitters
A vintage cocktail made with tequila blanco, lime juice, simple syrup, crème de cassis, grenadine, lime, and soda water
A modern cocktail made with gin, elderberry shrub, cherry liqueur, lemon juice, hibiscus, lavender, & oak bitters, ginger bitters, and seltzer water
Cool off with these refreshing cocktail recipes perfect for summertime.
Learn how to make homemade simple syrups, shrubs, and spreads to use in cocktails.
