It's the end of another work week, and that means that we have another round of cheap, easy-to-make, and Professor Oak-approved Pokemon-inspired cocktails perfect for hot summer nights.
This week, we have 10 cocktails on offer -- we've tackled the Nidoran line, created a deliciously creamy drink based on Clefairy, and taken Vulpix and Ninetales for a spin. A fire spin.
#029 Nidoran&@
Found in the wilds of Viridian City, a female Nidoran makes up for its slightly smaller horns with an irritable and protective nature. Any trainer unfortunate enough to cross paths with a female Nidoran better hope that there are some antidotes left in that bag, otherwise her venomous barbs will have your party feeling the effects of the encounter long after the battle is done.
To pay tribute to the Nidoran line's poisonous nature and sharp barbs, we're going to use vodka as our main spirit, then add earthiness, sweetness, and color with muddled blackberries for the female variety. Fury Attack those berries into a fine pulpy mash, adding anywhere between 1 and 5 berries depending on taste. Then, all that's left is to cover the drink with soda, stir, and serve.
TL;DR VERSION
In a rocks glass, muddle a handful of blackberries. Add ice, and 1.5 oz vodka. Cover with soda and stir.
#030 Nidorina
The evolved version of the female Nidoran is a very different beast from the original. With an increased muscle mass and a proclivity towards punching problems away, we'll pay tribute to the stronger nature of the Pokemon by augmenting the basic female Nidoran drink with a healthy portion of sweet vermouth.
The vermouth will not only add body to the drink, but its sweet, dark taste perfectly compliments the tart nature of the blackberries, creating a surprisingly sophisticated flavor profile.
TL;DR VERSION
In a rocks glass, muddle a handful of blackberries. Add ice, 1.5 oz vodka, and .75oz sweet vermouth. Cover with soda and stir.
#031 Nidoqueen
As Nidorina evolves into Nidoqueen, she not only becomes a true powerhouse of a Pokemon, but gains the ability to use powerful ground-based attacks like Earthquake, along with the devastating one-hit KO move Fissure.
To adequately represent these powerful attacks, we're not only going to swap the vodka for whiskey, but we're going to add an earthy aroma to the drink by shaving some cloves into it. One or two should be enough, simply grate them into the drink until the aroma hits your nose. Like the Pokemon it's based on, this drink hits hard, and its flavors pull no punches.
TL;DR VERSION
In a rocks glass, muddle a handful of blackberries. Add ice, 1.5 oz whiskey, and .75oz sweet vermouth. Cover with soda, and using a microplane or grater, shave a clove or two into the drink.
#032 Nidoran&B
Like its sister, the male version of Nidoran is a cantankerous beast, best known for its tendency to solve problems by bashing them with a horn until they magically go away.
Again, we're going to use a base of vodka and soda here, but for color and taste, we'll use muddled raspberries for the male version of this Pokemon. Anywhere between 1 and 5 will be plenty. The tart flavor makes this drink a very refreshing one, one that tastes slightly sweeter and sharper than the female Nidoran cocktail.
TL;DR VERSION
In a rocks glass, muddle a handful of raspberries. Add ice, and 1.5 oz vodka. Cover with soda and stir.
#033 Nidorino
Nidorino, like Nidorina, is a much more powerful version of the Pokemon that came before it. Nidorino is brawny, with ample muscle mass to launch that deadly, poisonous barb into any Pokemon unlucky enough to cross its path.
Again, like the Nidorina, we'll add some sweet vermouth here to the base male Nidoran drink. The flavors here are actually very interesting. Since raspberries are sweeter and slightly less earthy than blackberries, the sweet vermouth here adds some much-needed smoothness to the drink, instead of complementing the flavors that are already there.
TL;DR VERSION
In a rocks glass, muddle a handful of raspberries. Add ice, 1.5 oz vodka, and .75oz sweet vermouth. Cover with soda and stir.
#034 Nidoking
The final evolution of the male Nidoran, and one of Giovanni's favorite Pokemon alongside Nidoqueen and Rhydon, Nidoking also has the ability to use devastating ground-type moves-- not to mention the fact that he can also use the one-hit KO move Fissure.
By now you know where we're going with this. To add earthiness and body, swap vodka for whiskey, and shave one or two cloves into the drink until it becomes aromatic. Hey, those cloves kinda look like horns, don't they? Maybe pretend they're Nidoking horns when you grind them into the drink.
Wait.
Don't.
Don't do that thing.
Wow. That got dark.
TL;DR VERSION
In a rocks glass, muddle a handful of raspberries. Add ice, 1.5 oz whiskey, and .75oz sweet vermouth. Cover with soda, and using a microplane or grater, shave a clove or two into the drink.
#035 Clefairy
Deep in the bowels of Mt. Moon, a mysterious dance is taking place. Alien Pokemon said to be visitors from the moon gather around a mysterious stone, chanting and singing. The Pokemon seem docile, but hide massive strength behind their cute, pink, fluffy exterior. This is the true nature of the Clefairy.
To adequately capture the cuteness of Clefairy in drink form, we'll be using an overwhelmingly sweet spirit as our base -- Rumchata. It's creamy and slightly spiced, which makes it a perfect match for the cream soda we're going to add to it.
TL;DR VERSION
Add 1.5oz rumchata to a chilled coupe glass. Cover with cream soda and serve.
#036 Clefable
Any trainer worth their salt knows that the way to evolve a Clefairy into a Clefable is to expose Clefairy to a Moon Stone. Now, we here at GameSkinny can't in good conscience recommend that you break into your local museum to steal moon rocks for use in your cocktails, so we've come up with an alternative.
A perfect sphere of strawberry ice cream or sorbet will add a pleasant hit of sourness to this drink, and turn it into a wonderful float-style-cocktail for hot summer nights. So don't hesitate to evolve your Clefairy. It'll be worth the extra effort.
TL;DR VERSION
Add 1 scoop of strawberry ice cream or sorbet to a chilled coupe glass. Pour 1.5oz rumchata over the ice cream, and cover with cream soda.
#038 Vulpix
For those of you who grew up with Pokemon Blue and didn't take Charmander as your starter, Vulpix was likely the first fire Pokemon you welcomed to your party. The original fire fox, Vulpix is known for its iconic tail, and also for generally just being a li'l cutie pattootie.
To honor Vulpix's sweetness while still giving the drink some heat, we're going to make a cinnamon simple syrup. Simply heat a cup each of water and sugar until the mixture boils, then throw in two cinnamon sticks. Simmer until the mixture reduces by around a third, and then cool. The syrup should have a decently thick consistency. Move it to a mason jar, keeping the sticks inside, and reserve for later use. We're going to use this to make a cinnamon whiskey drink that blows any Fireball cocktail out of the water. Simply rim your glass with chili powder, then stir together a shot of whiskey and a pony of the simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a martini glass and enjoy.
TL;DR VERSION
Prepare a glass filled with ice and rimmed with chili powder. Add 1.5oz whiskey and .75oz cinnamon simple syrup to a cocktail shaker full of ice. Stir and strain into the glass.
#039 Ninetales
Much like Pikachu, Vulpix evolves when exposed to a specific elemental stone. To become the elegant, mighty Ninetales, we'll need to give our Vulpix some extended exposure to a Fire Stone.
And luckily, they sell these at your local candy store.
By adding an atomic fireball candy to the drink, and choosing to shake the drink instead of stirring it, we will be able to impart the intense heat and wonderful cinnamon-y spiciness of the candy to the drink itself. Careful when you sip, however. This drink is a bit of a flamethrower. There's about a 10% chance you could get burned.
TL;DR VERSION
Prepare a glass filled with ice and rimmed with chili powder. Add 1.5oz whiskey, .75oz cinnamon simple syrup. and an atomic fireball candy to a cocktail shaker full of ice. Shake vigorously for 60 seconds and strain into the glass. Retrieve the fireball from the shaker and garnish with the candy.
Have you been enjoying our cocktails so far? Make sure to catch up here if you've missed any! Do you have a favorite? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to come back next week when we take on Jigglypuff through Parasect!
Published: Jun 9, 2016 09:12 pm