Fictional Drinks

May 4, 2008 3:49 PM

Trying to make a list of fictional drinks. For instance: Clementine mixxes up a couple of "blue ruins" in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and the Silver Jews' song Buckingham Rabbit makes reference to "shattered dogs on the rocks." What other fictional drinks can you think of?

Also, if you're game, what hints are given to the drinks' makeups?

ex: There's definitely whiskey in shattered dogs on the the rocks. And a blue ruin contains (at least) blue sapphire gin and schweppes's tonic.

posted by es_de_bah to food & drink (53 comments total)

Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster (from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy).
posted by Flunkie at 3:51 PM on May 4, 2008 [3 favorites has favorites]

Obviously, the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. And the Vesper. The latter is easier to make than the former, given the current shortage of that Ol' Janx Spirit.
posted by holgate at 3:53 PM on May 4, 2008

Screaming Viking was in a Cheers episode; when Sam returns and they need to keep Woody's job. No idea what's in it, but the question asked is "cucumber bruised?" reply, "slightly."

why i remember this, i cannot say.
posted by xz at 3:53 PM on May 4, 2008

"Fizzy-Lifting Drinks" in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." I think there was definitely carbination in those...
posted by scrumtralescent at 3:54 PM on May 4, 2008

Oh, and the recipe (for the PGGB) is explicitly given in the book:

1. Take the juice from one bottle of that Ol' Janx Spirit.
2. Pour into it one measure of water from the seas of Santraginus V.
3. Allow three cubes of Arcturan Mega-gin to melt into the mixture (it must be properly iced or the benzene is lost).
4. Allow four litres of Fallian marsh gas to bubble through it.
5. Over the back of a silver spoon float a measure of Qalactin Hypermint extract.
6. Drop in the tooth of an Algolian Suntiger.
7. Sprinkle Zamphuor.
8. Add an olive.
9. Drink . . . but . . . very carefully . . .

posted by Flunkie at 3:55 PM on May 4, 2008

There's "the drink they call loneliness" from Billy Joel's Piano Man.
posted by overglow at 3:55 PM on May 4, 2008

I think Wikipedia has a list of fictional drinks. Ah, here it is.
posted by Powerful Religious Baby at 3:59 PM on May 4, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

Hitchhikers Guide also had "djinnan tonnyx"
posted by Daily Alice at 4:08 PM on May 4, 2008

Chocolatl and tokay (and a few kinds of wine) from the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. And then there's a whole mess of drinks from Star Wars.
posted by cachondeo45 at 4:13 PM on May 4, 2008

This is a really morbid one.

I can't remember what they call it, but in the Belgian movie Man Bites Dog, they make a drink that's actually named after a French boy who went missing that was a famous case. I think the subtitles just call it a "Little Dead Boy" or something. The movie gives clear instructions how to make it, if I remember it's vodka or gin or something and soda, and they tie an olive to a sugar cube and then wait for the sugar cube to melt so the olive (the "boy") drowns.
posted by SoftRain at 4:17 PM on May 4, 2008

There's always the legendary Mount St. Helen's: Take an Olympia beer and dump an ashtray in it.
posted by dinger at 4:27 PM on May 4, 2008 [4 favorites has favorites]

Romulan Ale, Klingon Disruptor and Klingon Bloodwine from Star Trek.
posted by Koko at 4:32 PM on May 4, 2008

Only Forward (which is to cyberpunk as Ringworld is to high fantasy) has Jahavan coffee, "each molecule of which is programmed to pelt round the body kicking the shit out of any alcohol molecules it finds."
posted by nebulawindphone at 4:37 PM on May 4, 2008

Mudder's Milk (Firefly)
posted by decathecting at 4:39 PM on May 4, 2008

In the game Kingdom of Loathing, you can learn a cocktailcrafting ability that lets you make all sorts of real and fictional cocktails. (eg. The Perpendicular Hula, the Slap and Tickle, the Horizontal Tango, the Ducha de Oro)

And, of course, there's the Flaming Moe. Secret ingredient: cough syrup.
posted by painquale at 4:42 PM on May 4, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

hmm... i get the sense that what you're looking for here is mixed drinks &, as such, i'm not sure if the following qualify - still, for what it's worth

there's Ambrosia, in both its classical & contemporary varieties

and of course there's Soma (not to be confused with Huxley's variation)

posted by jammy at 4:44 PM on May 4, 2008

As far as I have analyzed, there is no pre-Rosemary's Baby mention of a 'vodka blush.' The current recipe, that you will find on internet searches for it, was conjured up by a good authority.
posted by Weighted Companion Cube at 4:51 PM on May 4, 2008

Milk-plus, from A Clockwork Orange.
posted by Flunkie at 4:53 PM on May 4, 2008

Butter beer from Harry Potter.
posted by kimdog at 4:54 PM on May 4, 2008

Playwright Stewart Lemoine has some characters at a cocktail party create their own drink in Cocktails at Pam's.
posted by joannemerriam at 4:54 PM on May 4, 2008

Chocolatl and tokay (and a few kinds of wine) from the His Dark Materials trilogy

I do not think either drink could be considered fictional. Tokay is a real wine and wine region in Hungary. and Chocolatl is just a variant on xocolātl, the Aztec name for chocolate.

Synthale (Star Trek), which I hope will never become real.
posted by derMax at 4:58 PM on May 4, 2008

Moscow-Petushki gives a number of cocktail recipes, such as a 'tear of a komsomol girl.'
posted by kickingtheground at 5:00 PM on May 4, 2008

Wikipedia has a list of fictional beverages.
posted by mmascolino at 5:10 PM on May 4, 2008

there's the "piso mojado" (wet floor?) which shows up in both Spook Country by William Gibson and also in the webcomic Achewood (first mention)
posted by heeeraldo at 5:28 PM on May 4, 2008

(Yep, "wet floor." It's what it says on the Spanish side of those hey-asshole-we-just-mopped-in-here signs.)
posted by nebulawindphone at 5:31 PM on May 4, 2008

Soul Coughing used to sing about a "Velvet Crush" - Kool-Aid and gin - in their song "Mr. Bitterness." I don't believe it's a real cocktail, though I suppose you could make one pretty easily.
posted by el_lupino at 5:54 PM on May 4, 2008

From the BFG by Roald Dahl -- frobscottle.
posted by peacheater at 6:05 PM on May 4, 2008

Sapphire Wine, Joyousness (From Tanith Lee's Biting the Sun)
posted by Phalene at 6:31 PM on May 4, 2008

Siberian Mist from the movie She's So Lovely. The movie was utter dreck, but for some reason the drink stuck in my memory.
posted by Dr-Baa at 6:31 PM on May 4, 2008

Flaming Moe/Homer (Simpsons) and Olde Fortran and LöBrau (Futurama)

Powerful Religious Baby writes "I think Wikipedia has a list of fictional drinks. Ah, here it is."

We'll have to get in there and update it once this thread has run it's course because it is pretty sparse.
posted by Mitheral at 6:52 PM on May 4, 2008

This totally doesn't count, but I made up the drink "Dirty Hippie" which is one part fresh-squeezed wheatgrass juice and one part really nice vodka. I maintain it's fictional because I suspect fresh-squeezed wheatgrass juice and really nice vodka have never been found in the same room.

I tried it with cheap Green Machine knockoff and Ketel One (the "Dirty Cheating Hippie"). It was vile enough that I'm going to leave the real Dirty Hippie fictional for the foreseeable future.
posted by crinklebat at 6:56 PM on May 4, 2008

Herzwesten Light, Bock and Dark.

Olde Fortran Malt Liquor
Klein's Beer
St. Pauli Exclusivity Principle Girl Beer
Sam Adam's Head Boston Lager
Löbrau Beer
Pabst Blue Robot

Dr McGloo's Amber Enema
Strollop's Lobster Scrumpy
Blackadder's Bowel Basher

Buzz Beer

Pawtucket Patriot Ale
posted by zamboni at 6:59 PM on May 4, 2008

three more classics from Achewood
posted by neustile at 7:04 PM on May 4, 2008

kimdog mentioned butter beer from Harry Potter ... also from Harry Potter, there's firewhisky and pumpkin juice, although the latter is supposedly a breakfast drink or soft drink kinda thing.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 7:20 PM on May 4, 2008

Here's a list of food and drinks from Discworld.
posted by Biblio at 7:21 PM on May 4, 2008

"And now, the Tranya"
posted by madmethods at 7:38 PM on May 4, 2008

There's "the drink they call loneliness" from Billy Joel's Piano Man.

i'm ordering a 'loneliness' the next time i'm out at the bar.
posted by camdan at 7:40 PM on May 4, 2008

In Joann Sfar's Vampire Loves, Ferdinand the Vampire often orders a "Martyri."
posted by ocherdraco at 8:04 PM on May 4, 2008

Wheatgrass and vodka? "It's called a lawnmower, I invented it, want one?" says Homer in "When You Dish Upon A Star" from season 10 of The Simpsons.
posted by gac at 8:05 PM on May 4, 2008

From Kelly Link's story, Magic For Beginners :

"I could really go for a nice cold Euphoria right now," Jeremy says. He and Karl are walking home.

Euphoria is: The Librarian's Tonic - When Watchfulness Is Not Enough. There are frequently commercials for Euphoria on The Library. Although no one is exactly sure what Euphoria is for, whether it is alcoholic or caffeinated, what it tastes like, if it is poisonous or delightful, or even whether or not it's carbonated, everyone, including Jeremy, pines for a glass of Euphoria once in a while.
posted by suckerpunch at 8:20 PM on May 4, 2008

Would Alice's "Drink Me" count? My roommate also recommends Shoggoth's Old Peculiar from a Neil Gaiman short story of the same name.
posted by earlofgrey at 9:24 PM on May 4, 2008

Tom Robbins mentions a Tequila Mockingbird in one of his books, though I'm not sure which one.
posted by bink at 9:28 PM on May 4, 2008

Moloko synthemesc, moloko vellocet and moloko drencrom all contain milk.
posted by flabdablet at 9:45 PM on May 4, 2008

In Pat Murphy's Adventures in Time and Space with Max Merriwell, a character always tries ordering a Flaming Rum Monkey. In the course of the book, a bartender makes up something to fit the description (and the recipe is given.) So it's sort of non-fictitious now, for some value of non-fictitious (which, actually, echoes multiple themes in the book.)
posted by Zed_Lopez at 10:59 PM on May 4, 2008

The Halo 2 ARG ilovebees mentioned Alt Burgundy, a foul-smelling beverage produced on the planet Jericho VII. It was rendered extremely rare after the planet was razed by the Covenant (the game's alien villains).

You can listen to a short discussion of Alt Burgundy (from an excerpt of the ilovebees radio drama) here.
posted by Rhaomi at 11:39 PM on May 4, 2008

In 'The Hen', a short story by H.H. Munro (= Saki), Clovis Sangrail invents a cocktail called the Ella Wheeler Wilcox. 'It was partly compounded of old brandy and partly of curacoa; there were other ingredients, but they were never indiscriminately revealed.'

However, I think the prize for Best. Fictional. Cocktail. Evar. goes to Anthony Powell, in Books Do Furnish a Room, where Dickie Umfraville serves a cocktail called 'Death Comes for the Archbishop'.
posted by verstegan at 2:35 AM on May 5, 2008

Also from the Simpsons: The Forget Me Shot
posted by General Malaise at 4:44 AM on May 5, 2008

FYI: in the appendix of Herbert Asbury's Gangs of New York, he defines Blue Ruin as slang for bad gin. So it's not a fictional drink, really, just outdated slang.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 6:47 AM on May 5, 2008

On behalf of Dune fans everywhere I submit, Spice Beer.

In the books it is highly potent and can catch even seasoned drinkers off guard. Unlike our beer, Spice Beer (made from the also fictional melange) PROLONGS life.
posted by TheDukeofLancaster at 7:58 AM on May 5, 2008

Here is another list.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:53 AM on May 5, 2008

Terry Pratchett's Thud has quite a number of them.
posted by small_ruminant at 11:40 AM on May 5, 2008

I just wanted to say...I love you guys.
posted by es_de_bah at 8:44 PM on March 11

We love you, too.

*hug*
posted by ocherdraco at 9:12 PM on March 11