Thoughts: Last spring, I caused a near scandal in our small town when I tapped the birch tree in front of our new house. The locals scoffed, thinking I couldn’t tell the difference between a maple and a birch. My husband and I had to go down to the breakfast place to casually mention that…
Category: wine
Counterfeit Malvoisie
“Daenerys held out her cup for Irri to refill. The wine was sweet and strong, redolent with the smell of eastern spices, much superior to the thin Ghiscari wines that had filled her cup of late.” -A Dance with Dragons, p. 204 Thoughts: Oh my. Sweet, redolent with spices, and completely different from anything I’ve…
Fossoway Red Apple Wine
Thoughts: This is by far one of my favorite wacky historical brews so far. What a powerhouse of flavors, and THAT COLOR! As the brew started to ferment, it tasted smelled healthy and earthy, like beets fresh-pulled from the ground, and apples fallen from the tree. I would recommend just that juice, if the finished…
Ginger Wine, round 1
Thoughts: The color is nearly clear, crystaline by homebrewed fruit wine standards, with just the slightest tint of yellow-green. It has a sort of sharp acidity on the first taste, followed by a bit of ginger flavor. I couldn’t quite pin the oddly familiar set of flavors, but then it hit me. It tastes like…
Fortified Blood Orange Wine, 1690s
Thoughts: The Lucayos Cookbook uses predominantly raisin-based fruit wines, and so far I’ve found them to be interesting and tasty. This version is unique in that it is fortified with brandy after fermentation, giving it a bit of an extra kick. To stay closer to Game of Thrones, I swapped the Seville (civil) oranges called…
Plum Wine
“The queen took a flagon of sweet plum wine from a passing serving girl and filled Sansa’s cup. ‘Drink,’ she commanded coldly. ‘Perhaps it will give you the courage to deal with truth for a change.’” –A Clash of Kings Plum Wine Thoughts: Usually I wait with brewing recipes, but it’s just the tail end…
Violatium
“I’d give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died.” -Ophelia, Hamlet Thoughts: So get this: The Ancient Romans actually made this beverage where they immersed violet blossoms in wine. Naturally, I had to try it. The finished product is quirky. As the mixture ages, the color leaches out of the violets, leaving…
Apricot Wine I
“Before you came Meereen was dying. Our rulers … sat atop their pyramids sipping apricot wine and talking of the glories of the Old Empire whilst the centuries slipped by and the very bricks of the city crumbled all around them. Custom and caution had an iron grip upon us till you awakened us with fire and blood. A…
Game of Brews 