An Outlandish Confession

Truth Maker

Bitters and I have not been fully honest with you. You see, we share quite the obsession, and we're

Something to hide? No, just coping with Droughtlander the best we can.

not talking gin, folks. I mean, yes, we share an obsession for gin, but there is something else. And it's about to start it's fourth season this Sunday, thus finally concluding yet another long and inhospitable Droughtlander.

You may even go so far as conjecturing that we perhaps started a blog documenting our drinking habits to better while away the time as we labored through, waiting with bated breath for not just the new season of the vastly underrated TV show, Outlander, but the next book in the series by Diana Gabaldon, Herself as well! (Come on book 9, don't George R.R. Martin us!)

So to celebrate the return of the inimitable Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp Randall Fraser and her dashing, Highlander husband, James Alexander Malcolm McKenzie Fraser, we were inspired to create a cocktail just for this occasion...ahem, November 4.

Colonial drinking habits

"Jamie, I'm thirsty." "And I, too, Clair."

If you are not familiar with the show or the books, we may have lost you already. Although, it's hard to imagine you haven't heard of this phenomenon seeing as how it was just voted #2 in PBS's The Great American Read, over 20 million copies of the books have been sold, and the show has over 2 million viewers. If you're still with us, let's talk about all the geeky details we considered when creating a cocktail that could even approach being worthy of such an epic tale as Outlander. And don't worry, no spoilers ahead.

The fourth season takes place in the American colonies about a decade before the revolution
officially kicks off. So, naturally we started thinking of what kinds of spirits Jaime and Claire may have encountered during that time. They did make their own whisky (or is that whiskey since it's distilled in America?) on the Ridge, so that was in contention. They often mentioned in the books drinking Applejack, which was quite popular at the time, apples being in abundance. An apple brandy of some sort would be especially nice since Autumn is upon us. How about rum? They did just survive a shipwreck from a hurricane that brought them all the way from Saint-Domingue/Hispaniola, which is modern-day Haiti, to the coast of Georgia. So perhaps some Barbancout Rhum found it's way into Claire's skirt pockets as she went overboard. The Frasers are a multi-faceted crew though. Not only to they tend their land alongside former indentured servants from Scotland, but they also mingle with some of society's elites, such as the governor. Sherry seems like something Governor Tryon of North Carolina would have enjoyed along with his afternoon tea. And we are sure Aunt Jocasta would partake in a wee tipple of the Spanish stuff as well. So how can we tie these all together?

Fraser's Ridge No.1, quenching your thirst after all that butter churning. ;)

Well, we couldn't decide, so we've made you two possible cocktails to toast the return of everyone's favorite Scottish Highlander and his bad-ass, time-traveling, surgeon wife.

Fraser's Ridge No.1 - Bitter's

1 oz. Laird's Apple Brandy
1 oz. Fino Sherry
1/2 oz. Benedictine
1/4 oz Laphroaig 10 year Single Malt Scotch Whisky
1-2 dashes Peychaud's bitters

Stir all ingredients over ice and pour into a coupe glass - no garnish.

Fraser's Ridge No.2 - Rind's

Fraser's Ridge No.2, just what you need after a long day's ride on Clarence.

1 oz. Laird's Applejack
1 oz. Barbancourt Rhum
1 oz. Cream Sherry
2-4 dashes Peychaud's bitters

Stir all ingredients over ice and pour into a tumbler with one large ice cube - no garnish! Because this is colonial America, dammit! We ain't got time for no frilly garnish!


The Peychaud's bitters rounds out both cocktails nicely, and it's interesting to note, Antoine Amedee Peychaurd, a Creole apothecary in the 18th/19th century, was originally from the French colony of Saint-Domingue. It's gentian-based, which reminds us of Claire's love for gentian root. She used that sh*t on everything, most notably for Lizzy's malaria. We think Dr. Randall would approve.

Laird's has been producing Applejack since Alexander Laird settled in Monmouth County, NJ back in 1698, after emigrating from, you guessed it, Scotland. He even shared his recipe with George Washington when the future father-of-our-nation wrote him asking for it. So it is very possible that Claire and Jamie could have been drinking this very elixir...that is, ahem, if they were real people, ahem.

We hope this post has brought your everything Outlander has brought to us over the years: history lessons, passion, suspense, and a time-bending and enduring relationship through it all...maybe that last part was a tad overreaching for a cocktail post, but you get the idea.

Slàinte mhath!

By Julz Vivalo