Disclaimers: A copy of Puncheons and Flagons was provided for review purposes. This writer is not a mixologist but has a passion for tasty flavor combinations of all kinds.
What can be better than sitting down with your friends to play Dungeons & Dragons? Why, sitting down to play with everyone enjoying a drink and/or snack of their choice, of course! I don’t mean to imply that a game of D&D is improved by alcohol. My personal preference for game sessions is a strong cuppa, mostly because I am the Dungeon Master (DM) and need my wits sharp. Whether you’re looking for a boozy pick-me-up, a virgin drink with a complex flavor, or just a snack, the latest work from Andrew Wheeler, Puncheons and Flagons, is a great companion for your game night.
About the Book
Puncheons and Flagons is organized like a cookbook and is divided into sections based on the primary type of alcohol in the beverage. For each of the 10 categories, there is an associated location or bartender from the lore of D&D, and each recipe comes with an interesting origin story or history from the D&D multiverse.
The Target Audience
As a general rule, the apparent target audience is hobbyist mixologists—that is, folks who enjoy mixing unique or complex alcoholic beverages. Few of the drinks are simple, and many require a base liquor along with flavoring from an additional source of alcohol, such as a liqueur, wine, and sometimes additional spirits. That said, the book introduces most mixology concepts, so even a novice can still dip their toes into the game. There are materials included to teach the reader about bar equipment, glassware, techniques for mixing and serving, and even advice for adapting your recipe to use ingredients you have on hand or fixing a recipe that doesn’t land for you.
Material Components Required
If you don’t have any alcohol (or the other ingredients) on hand, there may be a barrier to entry due to the costs of alcohol. Opting for cheaper options will diminish the overall effect of the drink, but you can save some expenses by reviewing the advice in the Adapting Recipes section of the “Setting Up a Home Bar” chapter. You can also review the tools and glasses presented here to learn how to get similar effects without buying more equipment. For example, there is advice on which tools you can use from your kitchen to avoid buying more tools while you learn. The descriptions of glassware can also help you find a suitable vessel for your beverage if you don’t have that exact glassware. (See the below examples of recipes I prepared.)
Are the Recipes Good?
The key thing I wanted to check with this review is whether the recipes yield a delicious product. I read every recipe, taking note of recipes such as the Library Martini which are similar enough to drinks I’ve mixed or tried in the past to know whether I liked them without having to make and/or drink dozens of alcoholic drinks for the review. The Library Martini is a type of sage-infused martini, which I’ve had (and enjoyed!) before, with some minor alterations. Crakaneg and Craknoeg, a standard eggnog and a vegan alternative, likewise match some of my previous experience and look like solid recipes without my needing to try them.
Practical Testing
I decided on two recipes to test personally. Ogretoe is an alcoholic beverage with a whiskey base served on the rocks. Lathander’s Bounty, on the other hand, is a virgin smoothie with distinct differences from how I approach a typical smoothie. Each of these recipes represents a sample of a recipe that can be made with basic on-hand ingredients. I did not purchase any additional ingredients to prepare them, though I did make one substitution in the Ogretoe.
Ogretoe
Method: The Ogretoe is a strong and sour beverage. Four parts whiskey, 1 part dry vermouth, 1 part pickle juice, and 1 part lemon juice are shaken with ice to chill, then poured over ice and garnished with a cocktail pickle. This yields a pungent, sharp, and sour beverage. I used a small jar instead of a rocks glass, which served perfectly. As a note, I substituted a dry white wine for the vermouth, as I didn’t have dry vermouth on hand. This was the suggested substitution, so I feel like it’s still a fair representation of the drink.
Review: The combination of pickle juice and lemon juice made for an exceptionally bright flavor profile, but was a bit too sour for my tastes. Thankfully, the Adapting Recipes advice had a suggestion for this, which is to add sugar syrup. This turned the Ogretoe from a punch in the face into a milder beverage reminiscent of a whiskey sour with personality. It didn’t take much sweetener to mellow the flavor into a better balance, and I thoroughly enjoyed the end result. As a note, the recipe calls for fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and that’s what I had on hand. This gave the drink a more textured and saturated appearance, but if you’re serving your drink in a non-transparent vessel, the impact is lessened considerably, and you can use bottled lemon juice without losing too much in the way of flavor.
Lathander’s Bounty
Method: The recipe for Lathander’s Bounty was a mix of basic and elevated elements. Fresh peaches, fresh-or-frozen mango chunks, Greek yogurt, and raspberries are the base, and not much different from the smoothies I make for myself regularly. However, the recipe takes things a step further by adding a touch of honey, basil leaves, and club soda or sparkling water. By blending all of the ingredients together except the soda, you get a smooth and fresh-tasting smoothie. The recipe suggests adding ice cubes here, but I will say that if half or more of your fruit is frozen already this isn’t really necessary. The final step is to mix in the club soda or sparkling water. I don’t use highball glasses typically because of my unique ability to break any kind of stemmed glass, so I used a more accessible handled glass with a tall, narrow profile which matched pretty well, and it kept the smoothie cold and my hand warm.
Review: The addition of honey, basil, and soda water really lifted my usually dense smoothie experience into a lighter, more complex drinking experience. I found the overall effect very refreshing and less of a heavy, creamy experience. My partner snuck a taste from the blender while I took photos of the end result, and I returned to her scraping the blender for more. We both agree that the additional ingredients yielded a superior result, and we will be using this method again in the future.
Advice From My Kitchen
I feel compelled to add some advice to those considering using this book. I will try to keep it brief, but there are some critical considerations one might ponder before diving in.
Company Encouraged
Each recipe makes enough for two or more people. Most recipes are for two glasses, but recipes such as Crakaneg, Mintwater, and Littlewinter call for a pitcher. No matter which recipe you’re considering mixing up, make sure to bring a companion or pace yourself for a longer-lasting experience. Drinking a full recipe in a short time will likely not end well for an individual. For context, an Ogretoe recipe uses four ounces of whiskey and an ounce of vermouth, which yields two beverages. This drink is strong enough to be a sipping drink even for an experienced mixologist, and if you’re not sharing with someone else, it may be best to assume you’re not mixing any other drinks that night unless you’re cutting the recipe down.
Snacks Abound
Spread throughout the book are recipes for snacks and finger foods that pair well with different drinks. The High Sun Florentines, for example, pair well with recipes from the first six chapters, as those recipes are based on gin, whiskey, vodka, rum, tequila, and brandy, all of which pair well with dark chocolate. Use your best judgment for any specific pairing, as pairing an Ogretoe with a sweet treat will accentuate how sour the drink is. With particularly sour, salty, or sweet drinks, consider alternatives such as Dragonberries, which are a spiced roasted chickpea snack.
Fantastic Pairings
If you’re trying to truly astound your guests, consider pairing recipes from Puncheons and Flagons with recipes from the Heroes Feast cookbooks, which are also officially licensed D&D cookbooks, and are also chock-full of D&D lore to inspire your game. In particular, preparing drinks or dishes from the world of your group’s preferred setting can help bring that world to life for your Session 0. I have reviewed these books for GeekDad previously if you’re interested in learning more.
TL;DR
Puncheons and Flagons is the official Dungeons & Dragons cocktail book, and it is packed with recipes for the hobbyist mixologist. The financial barrier to entry is moderately high if you aren’t already practicing mixology in other contexts, but the advice in the early chapters can help you make appropriate substitutions for tools, spirits, and even glasses. There are options for virgin drinks and snacks, but alcohol in its many forms is the highlight of the book, so if you have no interest in alcoholic beverages, it may be best to give this book a pass. You can buy Puncheons and Flagons today, along with the Heroes Feast books on Amazon.
