I just finished listening to the Whispering Lakes storyline (episodes 11-24) of the Tales of Asperran podcast. Tales of Asperran is a D&D 5e actual-play podcast set in the titular homebrew world of Asperran, a setting designed by Mike (the gamemaster). One of my favorite events in this story arc has inspired this cocktail. I will try not to spoil anything in case anyone else is as terribly behind in this fabulous podcast as I am, but I will briefly explain my inspiration and provide full directions to make this cocktail below.
A Tale of Two Characters (And Two Berries)
Eps 11-24 (Seriously, listen to it!)
Tales of Asperran has some fabulous characters, and two of them directly inspired this cocktail. First, there’s Two Berry, the tiny companion of Alea, the party’s druid. He is an animated pair of blueberries (and is just far too adorable for words). Second, there’s Tedward, a strapping farmer-turned-barbarian who’s out to get his name in the books as a capital-H-Hero. These two ended up magically paired as a result of happenings tied to a Dreamer’s Draught in the Whispering Lakes storyline (I’ll say no more to avoid spoilers!), so I tied them together in this cocktail version of a Dreamer’s Draught in honor of that memorable event.
Dreams of Two Berry Tedward uses a vodka base (potato vodka, of course; no better way to honor Tedward’s root-vegetable-farmer roots), and is flavored with blueberries in honor of Two Berry (sorry, buddy; we’ll try not to consume too many of your blueberry fellows in front of you), and lavender in honor of the Dreamer’s Draught potion itself.
Without further ado, here is the full recipe to make this cocktail:
How to make your own Dreams of Two Berry Tedward
To a cocktail shaker, add:
- 2 oz vodka (potato-based, if you can find it)
- 1 oz blueberry lavender syrup*
- 1 oz fresh lemon juice
- egg white (approx 1/2 oz, or the white of one egg)
As with any cocktail which incorporates egg white, you will want to shake this once with ice to chill it and once without ice (a “dry shake”) to maximize your foam. You can do this in whatever order you prefer, but I highly recommend that you do make sure to shake thoroughly and incorporate both a wet & a dry shake for best results.
Strain into a chilled coupe glass, and garnish with precisely two blueberries. As an optional addition, you may also garnish your egg white foam with several drops of lavender bitters.
*Keep reading below for full instructions to make your own blueberry lavender syrup.
Making your Blueberry Lavender Syrup
This is a lovely syrup that can be used for a multitude of purposes apart from the Dreams of Two Berry Tedward cocktail. I enjoy adding it to coffee, you can add soda water to make blueberry lavender soda, and it’s good as a substitute for simple syrup to switch up the flavor profile of any number of other cocktails.
It’s also really simple to make!
In a medium saucepan, combine:
- 1 cup water
- 1-2 cups sugar (depending on sweetness preference; I used 1.5 cups for mine)
Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Once boiling, add:
- 1 quart fresh blueberries
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- a pinch of salt
- 1 Tablespoon culinary lavender
Return your mixture to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer. Allow to simmer until your berries burst and release their juice (approximately 5-7 minutes).
Allow to cool with berries in the syrup. Once fully cooled, strain the syrup from the berries. Do not press/mash your berries as you strain (this will make your syrup cloudy).
You can save your blueberries to use in all sorts of yummy ways (in smoothies, as an ice cream topping, to garnish or add flavor to drinks, in pancakes or baked goods, etc.).
The completed syrup will keep in your refrigerator for 2 weeks (possibly longer, especially if you used more sugar in your mix).
If you aren’t a fan of lavender, you can always omit it from the recipe in order to make a simple blueberry syrup.
If you try out this cocktail, let me know what you think in the comments below or via social media! Whether or not you give this drink a try, you should definitely check out the Tales of Asperran podcast and their associated Gilded Lilly podcast.
*I created this cocktail and did this post as a fan of the podcast; they do not sponsor me or Briarbook Lane
