Robb ... Murdered at the Red Wedding, butchered by the Freys. I should have been with him. Where was I? I should have died with him."
~Theon Greyjoy
When I decided to do a Red Wedding cocktail interpretation for Game Of Thrones all I kept seeing in my head was a New York Sour. Once known as a Continental Sour, later a Southern Whiskey Sour, the New York sour is a drink that starts out normal - as a Whiskey Sour - then just gets bloody as hell when the wine flows. Just like The Red Wedding when the wine is poured and the treachery begins.
A traditional New York sour consists of rye whiskey, simple syrup, fresh lemon juice, an egg white then a dry red wine float. The bloody part is when you float that red wine over the back of a spoon and it floats on top of a cocktail slowly oozing down into the drink. Tell me that's not a perfect visual for the Red Wedding!
Every time I thought about the Red Wedding I kept seeing that wine flowing blood red onto the New York Sour, so I decided to go with it, only I pulled a little treachery of my own. I killed the whiskey off and replaced it with a beautiful aged rum making my variation more of a Peninsula Sour, then added a little spice to the sweet element by using a spiced honey instead of simple syrup.
The garnish of the long orange twist represents a Celtic knot, a tradition that symbolized the bond of marriage, a ceremony which preceded the exchanging of rings of modern weddings. It also represents the tangled web of deceit which wove itself through the machinations in Westeros before and during the Red Wedding.
The way I poured in the wine float represents the flowing of blood and betrayal over the purity of trust and union.
TheRAINS OFCASTAMERE SOURA Red Wedding Cocktail
INGREDIENTS:2 Oz. Diplomatico Rum3/4 Oz. Spiced Honey Syrup*1/4 Oz. Fresh Lemon Juice3/4 Oz. Fresh Blood Orange Juice2 Tablespoons Pasteurized Egg White2 Dashes Scrappy's Grapefruit Bitters1 Oz. Malbec Wine
Garnish: Orange twist knot
Tools: Channel knife, Cocktail shaker, Strainer, Bar Spoon
Glass: Cocktail
DIRECTIONS:*Take a tablespoon of Honey Ridge Farms Honey Créme Spiced and thin to a syrup consistency with a tablespoon of hot water.Take a channel knife and carefully start at the top of an orange and channel out a very long twist. Wrap this into knots and drape over a rustic wooden stick.
Dry shake (without ice) all ingredients except the red wine to emulsify the egg and create a foam. Shake again with ice to chill and dilute then strain into a chilled glass. Float the red wine over a spoon on top, let it flow like the blood the The Red Wedding, garnish and serve.
"Not murder. It was vengeance, we had a right to our vengeance. It was war." ~ Merrett Frey
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Game of Thrones Cocktails Here
Updated 7-2021
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