Vlad’s Cold Klava

This is a recipe I came up with on the fly at a LARP social event for a dear friend who was running said game. Inspired by the notable assassin and witch, Vlad Taltos from the novels of the inestimable Stephen Brust, I’d like to think old Vlad would approve.

2 oz brandy (I’m using Pierre Ferrand 1er Cru de Cognac here)
4 oz unsweetened cold brew coffee
2 oz heavy cream
½ oz honey syrup
6 dashes Scrappy’s cardamom bitters

Shake all with ingredients with ice, strain, and serve up.

You can adjust the cream and honey syrup to your taste, but less than 1 oz of cream means you lose the velvety texture we’re aiming for. I was looking for a little extra sweetness, so drizzled another barspoon worth of honey syrup over the top of the
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Fortunato’s Hand

A few nights back I decided to play around with some Buddha’s Hand that @goblin_kin got for me. Besides getting an infused vodka going (which I’m giving one more day before I pull it), I came up with this experiment which turned out rather nicely.

2 oz cognac
¼ oz Amontillado
¼ simple syrup (1:1 ratio)
1 “finger” of Buddha’s Hand
3 drops of Scrappy’s cardamom bitters

Score the Buddha’s Hand piece and shake briefly with with the cognac, Amontillado, simple, and some cracked ice. Strain into a coupe and add the bitters across the surface of the drink. Garnish with a scored finger of the Buddha’s Hand.

The Amontillado was a smart addition, lending a nice, slightly musty woodiness to the drink that works really well with the strong cardamom flavor. The Buddha’s Hand is there, delivering a background note of bright citrus. I’d like to play around with this more in hopes of getting to something where the Buddha’s Hand is more central, perhaps by replacing the simple syrup with one flavored with the citrus, or infusing a little bit of cognac with it. Still, this initial experiment was tasty as
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