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larpgourmet · 6 years ago

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How to Feign Alcohol

Every great LARP has some sort of bar or tavern, but most LARPs allow for people under the legal drinking age to play -- which means that serving alcohol is usually a no go. Where I play, in Southern California, it’d also be doubly dangerous to drink something so dehydrating in the heat while being so active. So, how do you serve alcohol without serving alcohol?

For this post, I’m going to focus on simple bottled drinks, liquor, beer, and wine. I’ll do some recipes for faked mix drinks in a separate post.

Amber Liquors (Cognac, The Whiskey Family, Rum, Resposado) If you (like me) enjoy bourbon or whiskey, and you only want to emulate drinking such a drink -- you can imitate it easily with iced tea. You may need to play with the brewing time so it’s the right color -- but that’s how they do it on TV! Bonus, if you have something with a little caffeine, it’ll help perk you up! Black tea is best for this, as the color will be the closest. Simply bottle in a pretty decanter of some sort, and you’re good to go.

If you don’t like tea, apple juice is also pretty close in color, and doesn’t have the caffeine!

If you’re hardcore about wanting a flavor to match your offering, consider finding a vanilla honey tea. Most amber alcohols get their color as a result of the oak they’re aged in, usually adding notes of vanilla, honey, or molasses to the drink. Getting a tea flavored in the same vein will help! There are also teas that are designed to taste like amber alcohols, shop around!

Silver Liquors (Vodka, Gin, Tequila, Rum) For the easiest trick, just use straight water. But for added benefit, a clear sports drink will give you extra electrolytes while you’re drinking. If you go with the sports drink option, consider naming your alcohol to match “Raspberry Vodka” or “Cherry Vodka” for instance.

Cream Liquors (Amarula, Irish Cream) The signature look of cream liquors is that they do have milk (or cream) in them, but they’re mixed with something else that carries the alcohol. Consider making something like a cold chai tea latte, or other tea latte. The slight brown color of the tea will color the milk and give it the right kind of look. If you go with a chai latte, consider naming it as a Spiced Cream Liquor, for instance, as chai is a very spicy tea.

It’s also very easy to get creamers in Irish Cream, Amaretto, and Hazelnut flavors. Rebottle creamers in pretty glass bottles, and label appropriately for the best visual appeal!

Be careful to keep these cold!

Coffee Liquors (Kahlua, Coffee Brandy) This is a fairly easy one! I would just serve straight, cold coffee. If you can get away with a decent kahlua flavored coffee, it’ll add a very nice smell!

Other Colored Alcohols There’s a variety of other colors in alcohol. Absinthe and other herbal liquors, like Jagermeister are usually green (food dye is your best option here.) For an added bit of realism, get an anise flavored extract to make your drink taste like anise.

For other less natural colors, look no further than a booze like Hypnotique, which is an odd blue swirly color (try blue food dye and edible glitter in your bottles).

And some liqueurs are dyed to be more beautiful. (Liqueurs, for the record, are sweeter, less alcoholic drinks. They tend toward being more syrupy (higher in sugar) and are often flavored with different things, like berries, honey, or nuts. They can be either silver or amber colored, or they can be colored artificially to be pretty much anything else in the rainbow.)

Wine Honestly, I think your easiest wine trick is to go with the sparkling grape drinks, and sparkling apple juice that’s readily available at any grocery store. If you’re feeling extra, you can always paint the labels to make them come from a winery that would be appropriate to your setting!

There’s a wonderful woman at my game who mixes a little vinegar in with her drinks (I’ll have to ask her for the recipe sometime, if she’s willing to share), to give them a bit more of the wine bite. Bonus -- apple cider vinegar is very good for your system.

For some more esoteric wines, like mead, you’re probably better using apple juice. If you’re trying to get the right flavor, consider adding honey to the apple juice and boiling the mix down so it thickens a little. It’s not the healthiest thing in the world, but slightly syrupy apple-honey will taste good (mix in some cinnamon to be really bougie) and if you serve it in small glasses as a speciality drink, people will love it!

Beer I think my favorite for this is home brewed root beer, or sarsaparilla. Totally non-alcoholic, fizzy, and served in fun bottles -- this is a great booze alternative for anyone who’s looking to do something more creative with their faux alcohol.

Don’t know where to start? Check out the link below for a home-root-beer kit you can buy on Amazon for about $16.

https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Root-Beer-Home-Brewing/dp/B0033UX8A8/ref=asc_df_B0033UX8A8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167124686369&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7605819140602283334&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030820&hvtargid=pla-84579849446&psc=1

Final Thoughts The real win here will depend on how you sell the bottle. If you’re old enough to drink for real, save any interestingly shaped booze bottles and paint the labels to fit your world, then simply fill with whatever liquids it needs. I’ve also made a game of relabeling certain other juices and things so I could make a cocktail completely of sodas and juices. “Fire Whiskey” could be cranberry juice, as a for instance.

Home made labels on a home printer will go a long way to selling the effect. Avery sells printable labels that have a nice texture on them. For an added bonus, increase your in game economy -- hire an artist in game to generate the art for your label for you! Check out the link below:

https://www.amazon.com/Avery-Textured-Printers-2-25-Inches-22809/dp/B005IMARK8/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=avery+labels&qid=1564595329&s=home-garden&sr=1-6

If you’re running a bar or tavern in game, just make sure to leave a little note as to what is actually in the bottle, in case someone has an allergy or aversion -- or just doesn’t like the specific drink. A smaller sticker on the back of the bottle that is clearly marked with the real liquid will help a lot.

Another trick -- bring a funnel with you, and leave the larger bottle in your cooler. If you brewed iced tea, or brought apple juice for your bar, for instance, leave the majority of the tea or juice in your cooler, and simply pour a bit into the bottle based on how quickly it sells. That way it’s always pretty cold, and you don’t have to worry about it.

#LARP #TV Tricks #Alcohol #But Not Alcohol

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