Sherry cocktails for a Witchy Book Club

Obsessions Make Good Drinks

We aren't shy about the things we love around here. Much like our Outlander, Game of Thrones, and True Blood obbessions, we have yet another fantasy-novel-turned-TV-show to revel in this winter, A Discovery of Witches. So, it was fortuitous that a dear reader of ours, who is hosting a book club this weekend on that very novel, requested we suggest a fitting cocktail to serve her fellow bibliophiles.

Read it, obsess over it, reread it.

If you're not familiar with the story, it's your basic witch-meets-vampire love story, you know the one: they fall in love, fight the powers that be, walk through time, finds out she's not only the most powerful witch that ever was, but that their love will ultimately save humanity...That old trope. You couldn't get more in our wheel house if you tried, Deborah Harkness.

Reading Inspiration

When thinking of what to include in this cocktail we were inspired by the characters from the book, and some of their preferences in diet. In this canon, vampires indeed drink blood, but like an animal on the hunt, they also prefer their meat near the kill site, or as fresh as can be, and accompanied by nuts, botanicals, herbs, and luxurious produce; ie things found in nature.
We also took inspiration from locations in the book. Much of the story takes place between England, France, and Venice, Italy, which become characters themselves.

After The Hunt

Matthew De Clermont, suck down this with some nice, fresh venison.

1.5 oz. cream sherry - or alternatively use amontillado sherry and two dashes of angostura 

1.5 oz. brandy - Raynal VSOP
.5 oz scotch - using Glenlivet 12 year
Thyme sprigs

Combine all ingredients over ice and stir vigorously. Double strain to catch the stray thyme leaves into a tumbler with one large ice cube. Garnish with a fresh thyme sprig.

I picked the sherry, a fortified wine, because of the vampires' love of fine red wines. They don't feel the affects of alcohol like 'warm bloods' so they tend to drink like...a lot. Brandy for the castle in France, and Scotch for the hunting lodge in Scotland, this drink is what I imagine Matthew sipping on after he's stalked and killed a highland stag, sitting fireside at the lodge.

1,000 Year Covenant

2 oz. gin - Gin Sul is a great herbal forward gin
.75 oz. Cynar

The complex palette of 1,000 Year Covenant takes many twists and turns.

.75 oz. cream sherry
Lemon twist

Combine liquids over ice and stir vigorously. Strain into chilled coupe glass. Express lemon then drape over the side of the glass.
This one is for the ancient and refined tastes of the ruling body of Vampires, Witches, and Daemons, the Covenant, who hold meeting on an enchanted, secret island off of Venice, hidden from human sight. The rich, bitter, and herbal combination of this drink was seductive and conspiratorial, just like those damn Covenant members. Watch your back, Diana, they coming for ya, girl!

The show has already aired in the UK and several other countries but just hit the US via Sundance Now and Shudder channels. It's highly entertaining: good acting, decent writing, of good production value aside from the special affects, and even my husband agreed to watch it with me and did not hate it.

By Julz Vivalo

Drink along with your TV vampire boyfriend, we won't judge.