Hot Orc Draught

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Cocktail History

The Hot Orc Draught is a Novel Nightcaps original cocktail that was created as part of a series of The Lord of the Rings recipes made in honor of the release of The Rings of Power, a prequel to the original movie trilogy. The drink was inspired by the beverage forced on Merry and Pippin when they were captured by Orcs in The Two Towers. It uses ingredients that sound as though they would clash with one another, including rum, Pimm’s No. 1 Liqueur, Malört, and spicy bitters, but when paired, they make a beverage that could definitely stand in as the Orc’s drink of choice.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Rhum Agricole: This is a type of rum made in the French Caribbean Islands that is distilled from freshly squeezed sugarcane juice. I used Clément Rhum Vieux Agricole VSOP.

Pimm’s No. 1 Liqueur: This is a liqueur made in England with herbs, spices, caramelized oranges, and alcohol.

Jeppson’s Barrel-Aged Malört: This is a liqueur made with wormwood, juniper berries, elderflowers, spices, herbs, and alcohol.

Water: This is a colorless liquid that warms and stretches the recipe. I used hot filtered water.

Hot Pepper Bitters: This is a spirit made with peppers, botanicals, herbs, and alcohol. I used Infuse Bitters Tres Amigos Bitters.

Simple Syrup: This is a sweetener made with white sugar and water. I made mine using this stovetop recipe.

Lemon Slice: This is a slice of lemon that has been cut into a half wheel shape.

Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. I used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.

Saucepan: This is used to warm the ingredients. I used the Cuisinart 3-Quart Stainless Steel Saucepan with Cover.

Bar Spoon: This is used to stir ingredients. I used the Barfly Stainless Steel Teardrop Bar Spoon.

Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. I used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.

Cocktail Pick: This is used to hold the garnish. I used the Barfly Stainless Steel Skull Top Cocktail Pick.

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Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Dark golden brown color

• Aroma: Spicy rum and pepper

• Taste: Spirituous, warming flavor with balanced herbal bitter notes with a slight sweetness

• Finish: Bitter herbs with a throat-tingling spice

Kendall’s Rating: ⭐⭐

Kendall’s Take: “To be completely honest, the taste of this drink is not pleasant but in the way it should be since this recipe is intended to be one that Orcs would make. I honestly can’t imagine a more palatable way of making a cocktail that mimics the draught that would exist in Middle-earth. I wouldn’t drink it again, but I did enjoy helping come up with the concept for the Hot Orc Draught. A word of warning: If you do make this, do not under any circumstances attempt to drink it once it has cooled. It’s only drinkable hot; trust me on that one.”

Recipe