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Cocktail History
The Hot Orc Draught is a Sips From Scripts original cocktail that we created as part of a series of The Lord of the Rings recipes made in honor of the release of The Rings of Power, a show that serves as a prequel to the original movie trilogy. The drink was inspired by the beverage forced on Merry and Pippin when they were captured by Orcs in The Two Towers. It uses ingredients that sound as though they would clash with one another, including rum, Pimm’s No. 1 Liqueur, Malört, and spicy bitters, but when paired, they make a beverage that could definitely stand in as the Orc’s drink of choice.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Rhum Agricole: This is the base spirit. It’s a type of rum distilled from freshly squeezed sugarcane juice in the French Caribbean Islands. We used Clément Rhum Vieux Agricole VSOP because it has a distinct taste with notes of brown sugar and cocoa. For a low-proof version of this drink, try Caleño Dark & Spicy Tropical Non-Alcoholic Spirit in place of the rum.
Pimm’s No. 1 Liqueur: This is a British liqueur made with herbs, spices, caramelized oranges, and gin. For a low-proof version of this drink, use this recipe for non-alcoholic Pimm’s No. 1 Liqueur instead.
Jeppson’s Barrel-Aged Malört: This is a bitter liqueur made with wormwood, liquor, and spices.
Water: This is heated and added to the glass with the other ingredients to stretch out the spirits. We used filtered water.
Pepper Bitters: This is a type of spirit infused with hot peppers and botanicals. They add spiciness to the drink for more complexity. We used Infuse Bitters Tres Amigos Bitters for their hot habanero, Thai chili, and Puya pepper flavor.
Simple Syrup: This is a sweetener made with white sugar and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s stovetop recipe.
Lemon Slice: This is the garnish. It adds fresh lemon aroma and flavor.
Tasting Notes
The Hot Orc Draught features rum aromas and a spirituous, warming flavor that balances herbal and bitter notes with a slight sweetness, and it has an aftertaste with more indescribable bitter herbal flavors chased with a throat-tingling spice.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: Although it certainly uses incongruous ingredients, the Hot Orc Draught manages to go down surprisingly easily, or at least it will to those with adventurous tastes. That being said, once it cools down, it takes on a taste that only an orc could love, so make sure the drink if hot if you dare to try it.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“When creating this recipe, I was going for a combination that would be barely palatable, which is what I associated with the Orcs of Middle-earth. The Black Drink described in the books was part of my inspiration; Tolkien didn’t go in to too much detail about it, but it was described as having a peppery heat, so I knew I wanted to integrate that into it a bit. From there, I just went with the most disgusting flavor I could think of (a.k.a Jeppson’s Malört) and built on that to make it taste good. Personally, I think I succeeded, and while those outside of the sphere of weird liqueurs are likely to hate this, seasoned drinkers with more developed palates will hopefully find it tasty enough.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐
“To be completely honest, the taste of this drink is not pleasant but in the way it should be since this recipe is intended to be one that Orcs would make. I honestly can’t imagine a more palatable way of making a cocktail that mimics the draught that would exist in Middle-earth. I wouldn’t drink it again, but I did enjoy helping Alex come up with the concept for it. A word of warning: If you do make this, do not under any circumstances attempt to drink it once it has cooled. It’s only drinkable hot; trust us, on that one.”
Recipe
Add water to a saucepan.
Cook over low heat for 3-4 minutes until warmed through.
Add rum, Pimm's No. 1 liqueur, Malört, bitters, and simple syrup to a mug and stir for 5-10 seconds.
Pour hot water into mug and stir for 5-10 more seconds.
Garnish with lemon slice.
Ingredients
Directions
Add water to a saucepan.
Cook over low heat for 3-4 minutes until warmed through.
Add rum, Pimm's No. 1 liqueur, Malört, bitters, and simple syrup to a mug and stir for 5-10 seconds.
Pour hot water into mug and stir for 5-10 more seconds.
Garnish with lemon slice.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Caleño Dark & Spicy Tropical Non-Alcoholic Spirit in place of the rum and homemade Pimm’s No. 1 liqueur to try a low-proof version of this drink.
Tools & Glassware We Recommend
More Cocktails from Movies & TV Shows
If you like this cocktail recipe, here are a few others inspired by movies and shows we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Miruvor (The Lord of the Rings): A gin cocktail made with elderflower liqueur, white tea, honey syrup, and orange flower water
The Last Variant (Loki): An aquavit cocktail made with honey liqueur, Green Chartreuse, and lime juice
Stick ‘Em in a Stew (The Lord of the Rings): A potato vodka cocktail made with tomato juice or Bloody Mary mix, carry juice, celery bitters, Worcestershire sauce, saline solution, a meat stick, a canned potato, a cocktail onion, a baby carrot, a cherry tomato, thyme sprigs, and celery salt
Tatooine Sunset (Star Wars): A tequila cocktail made with blue curaçao, pomegranate juice, grenadine, orange juice, lemon juice, and cherries
The Crown of Gondor (The Lord of the Rings): A stout beer and red wine cocktail made with winter herb syrup, rosemary, and thyme
Spirits Lifted (WandaVision): A peppered gin and vodka cocktail made with vermouth, paprika tincture, smoke & salt bitters, and cocktail onions
Butterbeer (Harry Potter): A stout beer and spiced rum cocktail made with evaporated milk, butter, margarine, vanilla extract, brown sugar, whole cloves, whole allspice berries, cinnamon sticks, whipped cream, and nutmeg
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