Hello you wonderful lushes, and welcome back to Gotta Drink 'Em All, a weekly series where we will be creating custom craft cocktails based on all 151 original Pokemon. Last week, we created drinks based on Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander (as well as all of their evolved forms), but if you've shaken off your hangover already, we're back with 9 more, straight from Viridian Forest. Today we're tackling Caterpie, Weedle, Pidgey, and all their evolved forms. So pull on your comfy and easy-to-wear shorts, get your bug-catching net, and wade into the tall grass with us!
#010: Caterpie
Caterpie calls the wilds of Viridian Forest its home, subsisting on leaves and foliage. It's only appropriate that a drink inspired by the Pokemon should pay homage.
The Caterpie is a vodka drink, with the addition of a delicious, herbal, and refreshing mixture of tea and rosemary. While I used a simple Earl Grey tea for this recipe, you can feel free to use your favorite tea for the Caterpie. Just note that herbal teas generally work best, as spice or fruit-based teas will not play well with the flavors we're dealing with here.
Anyway.
Make the tea mixture by boiling some water with some tea bags in it, as well as a sprig or two of rosemary-- about 1 tea bag and 1 sprig of rosemary per cup of water. Allow the mixture to cool fully. After it has cooled, prepare a cocktail shaker with ice, and add a shot's worth of vodka. Cover with the tea mixture (about 3 shots worth, give or take) and shake to give the final drink a nice string-shot-looking layer of foam on top. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and enjoy. Do so responsibly, though. This drink is sure to lower your speed stat if you have too much.
TL;DR VERSION
Add 4.5 oz of a tea and rosemary mixture to a cocktail shaker along with 1.5 oz of vodka. Shake, and serve in a chilled glass. Garnish with rosemary.
#011: Metapod
Your Caterpie has evolved into a Metapod! Congratulations. As a nod to the Pokemon's signature move, we're going to make this drink a lot harder.
In more ways than one.
So remember that tea mixture from earlier? Throw it in an ice tray-- preferably one that allows for large cubes. If you feel so inclined, add some rosemary to the ice as well.
To prepare the Metapod, add the ice to a rocks glass, and pour the vodka over it. Yes, this drink is intense, but persevere. In time, Metapod's defenses will weaken, and the flavors of the ice cube will seep into the vodka, giving the drink added depth. The way the flavors blend and mature make this drink very different from the Caterpie, believe it or not, so definitely try it out!
TL;DR VERSION
Pour 1.5 oz vodka over a large cube of tea-and-rosemary ice.
#012: Butterfree
You put in the work, and now your Metapod has blossomed into a beautiful Butterfree. Its psychic powers are sure to help you on your quest to be the very best, assuming you can resist them yourself.
For the Butterfree, we'll be adding some stun spores to the Metapod drink in the form of your hipster friend's favorite spirit: Absinthe.
To prepare the drink, rinse the glass in the spirit before adding the ice or vodka. Now, if you've never done this before, it's very easy. Add about a teaspoon of absinthe to your chilled rocks glass, and then swirl and twist the glass until the absinthe runs along the sides and the aroma is released. Although it's somewhat counterintuitive, less is often more with absinthe, as using too much will kill the spirit's stunning aroma. Sip, and try not to cry when you remember the Bye Bye Butterfree episode of the TV show.
TL;DR VERSION
Rinse a chilled rocks glass with absinthe. Add a large cube of tea-and-rosemary ice, and pour 1.5 oz of vodka over the cube.
#013: Weedle
Weedle also calls Viridian forest its home, but as a worm, survives on a diet that calls for more fruits and vegetables. It also, unlike Caterpie, has a poisonous side.
Now, don't worry. We're not spiking any drinks with arsenic here, at least not until our lawyers approve another cocktail series focusing on the Dark Souls games. A shot of lemon will stand in for Weedle's poisonous barb here.
To begin, add a chopped orange pepper to a blender, along with a heaping tablespoon of sugar and 2 shots (3 oz) of lemon juice. Pulse a few times depending on how pulpy you want the final drink to be. Once you've done that, throw a handful of ice into a rocks glass and add 1.5 ounces of your mixture. Add in 1.5 oz of tequila, stir, and enjoy. This is a delicious summery drink. It's not too sweet, and it's incredibly crisp and refreshing.
TL;DR VERSION
Add ice to a rocks glass, then pour in 1.5 oz each of tequila and the orange pepper mixture.
#014: Kakuna
We're doing a very similar thing here with Kakuna as we did with Metapod earlier. To evolve your Weedle, all you need to do is pop some of your orange pepper mixture into an ice tray and allow it to Harden.
Once you've done that, pour a shot of tequila over the ice cube and enjoy as the ice melts and adds the flavors of the orange pepper and lemon to your drink. Oh, and hey, if you finish the drink before the ice melts, there's no shame in eating the ice cube. We won't tell anyone.
TL;DR VERSION
Pour 1.5 oz tequila over one large orange-pepper-and-lemon ice cube.
#015: Beedrill
The trials and tribulations you endured to get your Kakuna to evolve into a Beedrill have paid off. You've been rewarded with a powerful poison-type Pokemon.
Just, you know. Watch out for those stingers.
For the Beedrill, prepare the Kakuna as before, but instead of sugar to sweeten the orange pepper mixture, use a tablespoon of honey instead. Once that has frozen, rim a glass with cinnamon sugar, and add the ice cube. Add in the tequila, and as a finishing touch, we're going to use pin missile on this drink.
Depending on how brave you feel, add in anywhere from 2 to 5 dashes of any vinegar-based hot sauce (like Tabasco) to finish the drink. Stir, and enjoy the sweet heat.
TL;DR VERSION
Make a large ice cube using a mixture of orange pepper, honey, and lemon juice. Once it has frozen, add it to a glass rimmed with cinnamon sugar. Pour 1.5 oz of tequila over top, and add 2-5 dashes of hot sauce.
#016: Pidgey
As Pidgey is, by all accounts, the quintessential flying Pokemon, it seems only fitting that its drink is a riff on a classic Aviation cocktail.
A standard Aviation is a sweet and light drink that matches the herbal flavors of gin with creme de violette and maraschino liqueur. Now, as we have said before, we are striving to create cocktails that anybody can make at home without buying specialty products, and we're willing to bet you guys don't have a bottle of creme de violette laying around.
To make the Pidgey, simply add a shot of gin to a shaker along with about a half-pony each of lemon juice and maraschino juice from the cherry jar. Garnish with a cherry, and optionally, rim with cinnamon sugar to add a sand-attack to the drink. Personally, we prefer to keep our accuracy stat untouched, thank you very much.
TL;DR VERSION
Into a cocktail shaker, add 1.5 oz gin, .5 oz lemon juice, and .5 oz maraschino juice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with a cherry.
#017: Pidgeotto
This evolution of the Pidgey drink adds in a twist of grapefruit juice to stand in for the Whirlwind attack. The addition of grapefruit juice brightens and lightens the drink, while simultaneously adding a nice sharpness. This won't only allow for increased damage on Peck attacks, but will also add intensity and flavor that complements the original drink.
TL;DR VERSION
Into a cocktail shaker, add 1.5 oz gin, and .05 oz each of lemon juice, maraschino juice, and grapefruit juice. Stir and strain into a glass.
#018: Pidgeot
So you've found that secret house and gotten HM02. You're finally ready to fly. Well, hold on a second, partner. Because to evolve your Pidgeotto into a Pidgeot, we're going to need to cook up some clouds.
If you've never tried to make a cloud before, it's criminally easy, especially if you own a stand mixer. All you'll have to do for this drink is whip together one egg white and a heaping tablespoon of sugar until the egg reaches a "stiff peaks" stage (this means that as you lift your whisk out of the egg whites, the peaks do not fold over themselves-- they stay nice and pointy). Once you have done that, you should have a bunch of delicious sweet clouds for your Pidgeotto to fly through. Culinary experts call this a "meringue", but you and I know better.
To evolve your Pidgeotto into a Pidgeot, simply add a big spoonful of the meringue on top of your already prepared drink, then garnish with a nice little cherry on top. The light fluffy taste will complement the sharp grapefruit juice very nicely.
Optionally, you can also choose to firm the meringue up in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees. This will give the drink a nice toasted flavor, and additionally, will allow you to pick up the toasted meringue after you finish the drink and eat it. The meringue will have absorbed part of the drink, and the flavor will hit you like a wing attack to the face.
TL;DR VERSION
Add 1.5 oz gin and .5 oz each of maraschino juice, lemon juice, and grapefruit juice to a cocktail shaker. Stir well, and pour into a chilled glass. Top with meringue and a maraschino cherry.
Keep in mind, we have created these cocktails not only to be delicious, but also to be easy to make, with primarily ingredients you either already have, or can get pretty cheaply. Tweet @GameSkinny (or me, @SamGreszeseses) with photos if you decide to make these at home-- we'd love to see your work! We'll be back next week with Rattata through Sandslash. This next set includes Pikachu, so don't miss it!
Published: May 26, 2016 07:12 pm