Danny Boy's Cocktail Guide is a recipe book kept by Daniel Grigsby, the bartender of Danny Boy's Tavern at the 188. It talks about a number of classic cocktails and some Grigsby came up with on his own, as well as what makes a good cocktail, so budding connoisseurs can create their own.
Foreword[]
I established Danny Boy's Tavern in 2280 and began serving up refreshments to caravans, soldiers, and wasteland travelers that passed through. Whether I've a knack for mixing drinks or my patrons not being the type to complain, I've been experimenting in the field of what pre-War bartenders called 'mixology' and have developed some basic cocktail guidelines.
The first mixed drink guideline is to balance your drink between strong and weak spirits, and your sweetener and your sour so that not one of these overpowers the others. Add too much of a spirit and the drink will be too hot: you'll only taste the ethanol with a slight hint of cocktail – it'll get you drunk faster, but you don't order a cocktail if that's your end goal; add too much sweet and it'll taste like candy and give you that salivary twinge; add too much sour and you'll be puckering too much to taste the rest of the cocktail. A ratio to help you find your way is 2 parts spirit, 1 part sweet and 1 part sour, but adjust and make it to taste. Savor and enjoy the drink first, worry about tradition later.
Another guideline is to use as fresh ingredients as you can, which I realize can be a daunting task in the wasteland. If your mixers are stale, your cocktails are going to be stale. If you distill your own vodka or whiskey or whatever, and gather ingredients yourself, you can easily skirt this issue, but sometimes you simply got to deal with the scavenged goods you can trade for.
The final guideline is very basic, but equally difficult: chill (most of) your drinks if you can. Functioning refrigeration units are rare, but a cold drink is far more refreshing than a lukewarm, room temperature drink and I was fortunate enough to barter for a fridge for the tavern.
Those guidelines are basically it. You want a drink that tastes good, follow those. There are different kinds of glasses, different garnishes and the like, but they only affect presentation. From what I've gathered on my usual customers, they want something that cools them in the day, warms them at night and washes that radroach aftertaste from their palate.
Recipes[]
Classics[]
Black Russian: shake 6 oz. cold coffee with 3 oz. vodka; serve in a chilled tumbler.
White Russian: mix 2 oz. brahmin cream into a Black Russian
Rum & Nuka: mix 8 oz. Nuka-Cola with 2 oz. rum; serve over ice in a highball glass with a lime wedge.
Irish coffee: shake 4 parts hot coffee, 2 parts whiskey, and 1 part agave syrup; serve in a mug, topped with brahmin cream.
Long Island Iced Tea: mix 1 oz. vodka, 1 oz. gin, 1 oz. tequila, 1 oz. rum, 1 oz. orange juice and the juice of half a lemon and lime, with a splash of Nuka-Cola; serve over ice in a highball glass with a lemon wedge.
Danny Boy originals[]
Note: The author of this section does not mix drinks for a living; they could be delicious or dreadful. Drink responsibly and at your own risk.
Sarsaparilla Royale: a twist on the classic Rum & Nuka, mix 6 oz. Sunset Sarsaparilla with 3 oz. Old Royale whiskey; serve chilled in a highball glass.
Nevada Gold: shake 3 oz. vodka with 2 oz. barrel cactus fruit juice, 1 oz. prickly pear cactus fruit juice and the juice of half a lime; serve over ice in a lowball glass with a prickly pear fruit garnish.
California Margarita: shake 3 oz. tequila with 2 oz. lime juice, 1½ oz. banana yucca fruit juice and ½ oz. orange juice; serve over crushed ice in a margarita glass – or a lowball glass if the margarita glass isn't available – with a lime twist.
Mexican Molotov: Shake half of a diced jalapeño and the seeds of a honey mesquite pod with the California Margarita for a distinctly smoky margarita that kicks you in the back of the throat.
Crimson Caravaneer: Crimson Caravan employees celebrate successful caravans with 3 oz. of the local moonshine, 2 oz. Nuka-Cola Classic, 2 oz. mutfruit juice, and the juice of a lemon or lime, served at room temperature in a highball glass.
Red Scare: shake together 3 oz. Cherry Nuka-Cola, 1 oz. Irish whiskey, 1 oz. Scotch whisky, and the juice of a lemon; serve over ice in a lowball glass with a lemon twist.
High Class Headache: shake together 2 oz. absinthe, 2 oz. brandy (substitute wine if brandy is unavailable), ½ oz. agave syrup, and the juice of half a lemon; serve over ice in a lowball glass, garnished with a broc flower.
Farmer John: shake together 3 oz. Scotch whiskey and 3 oz. mutfruit juice and pour in 4 oz. soda water; serve over ice in a highball glass.
Mojave Mambo: shake together 2 oz. tequila, 2 oz. lime juice, 1 oz. Nuka-Cola Quartz, 1 oz. prickly pear cactus fruit juice, and a splash of soda water; serve over ice in a lowball glass with a lime wedge and Nevada agave twist.
Mix your own[]
Some flavors naturally go well together, but there's no reason you can't experiment and create your own cocktails. Below is a list of spirits, mixers, sweets, sours and garnishes you can mix and match that can typically be found in the American Southwest:
Spirits
Beer · Bourbon Whiskey · Scotch Whisky · Irish Whiskey · Moonshine · Tequila · Rum · Vodka · Gin · Brandy · Absinthe
Mixers
Coffee · Brahmin milk/cream · Nuka-Cola (Classic, Cherry, Quartz, Victory) · Sunset Sarsaparilla · Banana yucca fruit juice · Barrel cactus fruit juice · Prickly pear cactus fruit · Apple juice · Pear juice · Orange juice · Mutfruit juice · Soda water
Sweetener
Nuka-Cola (Classic, Cherry, Quartz, or Victory) · Sunset Sarsaparilla · Agave syrup · Gumdrops (if you're desperate)
Sour
Lemon juice · Lime juice · Orange juice · Sour gumdrops (again, if there's nothing else)
Garnish
Wedge of barrel cactus fruit, lemon, lime, prickly pear fruit, or orange · Lemon, lime, Nevada agave or orange twist · Brock flower