A Shot of The Speckled Band

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Hello fellow Sherlockians, Holmesians, and fancy-cocktail drinkers. It’s time again to tackle another story from the orginal Canon, and suppliment it with it’s very own specially themed cocktail. If you made it through last week’s kick off to The Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game (see “The Blue Carbuncle” here:), then your liver can definitely take what Conan Doyle and I throw at you this week. Get ready to visit the ancestral home of Stoke Moran and create your very own Speckled Band cocktail!

Ok, yes, I’m excited. This week’s cocktail is based on an old traditional drink, called a ‘flip.’ It is also considered to be the precursor to the more traditional egg nog, and it should turn out yellow(ish) with brown speckles– just like the speckled band of the story! You’re excited now too, I can tell. So grab the following and create yours, and you can sip along with me.

In a shaker, assemble the following:

2 parts blended whisky (like Maker’s Mark)

A spoonful of light whipping cream

1 organic egg (the white only)

1 small spoonful of confectioners sugar

Shake well

Pour into a large glass and garnish with a healthy dose of nutmeg (these are your speckles!)

If you missed the rules for The Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game, they can be found here: The Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game Rules

Grand total of drinks taken while re-reading “The Speckled Band”: 6

Take one drink when Holmes makes an amazing deduction (“You have come in by train this morning, I see.”).

Take one drink when Dr. Roylott rushes through the doors of 221b.

Take one drink when Holmes takes offense at Dr. Roylott associating him with the police.

Take two drinks for Holmes and Watson’s cab rides (one to catch the train at Waterloo, the other out to the manor house).

Take one drink for Holmes telling Watson he saw everthing at Stoke Moran the same as he, only deduced less.

Finish your drink and toast the damsel in distress, Miss Helen Stoner- a fearless lady who outlived the plans of one sneaky snake.

Ready for more? Tune in next week for a new drinking Adventure, complete with an original recipe. See you next time!

A Holiday Toast with The Blue Carbuncle

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Hello there, thirsty friends. And welcome to the first of many in the weekly Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game!

Obviously, I’m excited. How could you not be excited, when combining two things you really have a passion for? I knew my interest in both drinking and Sherlock Holmes would pay off eventually.

So let’s get started, shall we? First off, my original Blue Carbuncle cocktail recipe. Please make this before sitting down to your annual holiday reading of “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.” As a disclaimer– I’m definitely not Martha Stewart here, so when I mix and create, I’m more of a “close-enough” person, so I just eyeball everything. If this is too much for you and your scientific brain, please feel free to pull out the shot glass/test tube/whatever you use and measure everything precisely and to your taste. Most important for this cocktail, besides being thematically correct, is the taste. I hope you enjoy!

The Blue Carbuncle cocktail

In a highball glass or similar short glass, pour the following:

2 parts Grey Goose vodka (we’ve got to have that Grey Goose!)

1 part simple syrup

1 splash of lemon juice

a drop (or two) of blue curacao (a little goes a long way)

Stir slightly

Add one of the largest icecubes you can find (this is your carbuncle!) and voila! The Blue Carbuncle cocktail is done.

Now we turn our attention towards this wintery tale. Packed with cold weather and holiday highjinks, I’ve always loved “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.” I re-read it every Christmas and also watch the Jeremy Brett version, but this year’s version has been enhanced with this cocktail creation. If you missed the Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game rules, check them out here:

Grand total of drinks taken while re-reading “The Blue Carbuncle”: 5

Of course we take one drink for Holmes telling Watson he “sees” but he does not observe all the clues within the battered felt hat.

One drink is taken for Holmes surprising Watson with ingenious deductions; “You have an answer to everything. But how on earth do you deduce that the gas is not laid on in his house?”

One drink is taken when Peterson rushes in the 221B.

One drink is taken when Holmes, Watson, and the perpetrator jump into a cab to head back to Baker Street- but only one. Holmes and Watson walk most of the way around London for this story.

And finally one drink is taken when Holmes allows Ryder to go free. Although, almost in the same breath, Holmes claims he is “not retained by the police to supply their deficiencies,” so go ahead and finish that cocktail, because Holmes deriding the police is worth one sip.

Finished? Great. Join me next week as I tackle another tale, complete with an original cocktail recipe. Cheers!

The Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game: Rules

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It’s that time of year, folks. Yes, believe it or not, it’s once again time to pull out your book of original Sherlock Holmes stories and re-read “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” (what did you think I was going to say, holiday shopping or Christmas card-mailing? Please).

I enjoy re-reading this ‘Christmas story without the slush’ every year, but felt maybe it was time, now that I am an adult and all, to enhance the experience just a little. I was feeling ambitious and decided to invent a Blue Carbuncle cocktail to warm me up on these frosty nights when I settle in to read.

But this really got me thinking. What good is just sipping one delicious theme cocktail, when we can take things to the next level? That’s right. The Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game has been born.

Drinking and reading have always gone together- although maybe it’s been tea or coffee you’ve been wasting on that read. And what safer way to quaff your favorite cocktail than in the warmth and comfort of your own home, curled up with a good book? Plus, a huge debt of gratitude goes out to the talented Erin and all the lovely ladies who blog at ForeverYoungAdult.com– they inspired me (i.e. I totally got this idea from them- Thank you ladies!)

The Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game rules are as follows:

Take one drink every time Holmes makes an amazing deduction

Take one drink every time Holmes speaks badly about the police

Take one drink every time Holmes lets a perpetrator go free

Take one drink every time Holmes chastises Watson for not ‘observing’

Take one drink every time someone rushes into the rooms at 221B

Take one drink every time Holmes and/or Watson dash off in a hansom cab

I feel like there should be a few more rules (two or three at most, otherwise we’ll never make it to the end of the story!), but I am going to leave those up to you, dear reader. What do you think needs to be added to make this the best (and most educational) drinking game ever?

Next time- the complete rules will be posted (with your input), I share my recipe for my Blue Carbuncle cocktail, and we set out to drink our way through this holiday tale. Sound good? It’s a date then.