A water balloon filled with a red cocktail, slit to spill blood like The Red Wedding. A burning rosemary sprig represents the mercy arrow Jon shoots through Mance Rayder. These are just a few elements that make Game of Thrones Cocktails such an interesting project. The Cincinnati duo comprises Lauren, an accountant, and Brian, a sports medicine physician, who met while volunteering in Thailand ten years ago. Their shared love of Game of Thrones led them to create a series of creative cocktails inspired by each episode.
How did you come up with this concept?
Lauren: About 5 years ago, during Season 4 of Game of Thrones, we started getting into making craft cocktails at home. It was a great way to flex our pseudo-scientific and creative muscles and unwind after a long day. Our weekly Sunday night watch parties with friends seemed like a good place to get feedback on our concoctions, so we started developing a different cocktail each week, based on themes or plot points from the previous week’s episode.
After Season 7 ended, we decided to fill the GoT void by rewatching all of the previous episodes before the 8th and final season. This seemed as good a time as any to recreate the cocktails we had previously made, and to design new ones for the seasons we had not already done! We set up the Instagram account for friends and enthusiasts to follow along, rewatch the episodes with us, or just inspire others to make some yummy drinks!
Of the cocktails you’ve created, which ones are your favorite?
Lauren: After seeing it in the show, I knew I wanted to create a miniature version of the Hall of Faces—the repository of human corpse face masks used by the assassins called the Faceless Men to disguise themselves. I designed 4 cocktails to represent the various faces, and then tapped into some crafting skills to make a 3-dimensional Hall of Faces backdrop—I love the way it turned out!
Brian: The Rains of Castamere is probably the most well-known episode of Game of Thrones, mainly due to the final scene where Walder Frey betrays the Stark Family and viciously murders several of them during a wedding reception. We knew that we had to pull out all of the stops for this episode, so we filled a water balloon with a red cocktail and used a scalpel to slice it open, mimicking the bloody murder of the Starks. It took several attempts, and clean-up was messy, but filming it was a lot of fun and the slow-motion video and final shot turned out perfectly!
How do you come up with your ideas for each cocktail?
Brian: We start by rewatching the episode and writing down the key plot points. Next, we narrow it down to one or two that were important and/or interesting, and particular images or flavors that came to mind regarding the character or event. Lauren then comes up with a few recipe ideas, using ingredients or flavors that fit the vision, and we taste-test them and choose our favorite. Once we’ve settled on a recipe, we brainstorm the best way to display the drink, including glassware, ice (if needed), and garnishes. Lauren then writes up the caption and recipe, so that our followers can understand our methods and recreate the drink if they wish!
What are you most excited about in the final season?
Lauren: I am looking forward to seeing Nymeria reunite with Arya. I’d love to see if she will warg into her direwolf for battle.
Brian: After learning about the Night King’s expert javelin skills in Season 7, I’m interested to see what other athletic talents he has and how he puts them to use in his efforts to conquer the living. I’m also looking forward to Jamie fulfilling the “valonqar” prophecy and ending Cersei’s murderous reign.
Who is your favorite character?
Lauren: My favorite character is Dany. She is very fierce but she has a soft sensitive side. I also love Lyanna Mormont—she packs a pint sized punch.
Brian: My favorite character is Tyrion. I envy his wit, cunning, sarcasm, and thirst for knowledge; he also has a remarkable ability to survive, and even thrive, despite finding himself in difficult situations on multiple occasions. Plus, he has been known to enjoy a drink now and again.
What will you do when you run out of episodes?
Lauren: We’re not sure yet! After GoT, we are going to take a break, maybe to go on a cleanse, but may return to consider some other stories we are passionate about. The Harry Potter books come to mind, as do some others…
What can we expect for season 7 cocktails?
Brian: Fire and Ice!
Is there an ideal cocktail you hope to create for the last season?
Lauren: I’d love to do a dueling fire cocktail—one with Viserion’s blue fire and one with Drogon’s orange.
Brian: I don’t know if I have an ideal cocktail. I just hope for some exciting episodes that give us plenty of ideas or opportunities to try out new ingredients or presentations!
Keep up with their creations at @gameofthronescocktails on Instagram.
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