Let’s make a drink!

“So?” I asked Diana. “Is there something like that? A drink to end the night?”

“Kind of,” Diana said. “There are drinks people call ‘nightcaps’, which is really any drink, alcoholic or non-alcoholic, that you drink right before bed to fall asleep quickly. Things like warm milk or cocktails made with amaros. The idea is to have something to warm the body, and if so…”

My eyes widened. I nodded and followed her train of thought. “Yes, that could work. I’ve been learning bit by bit about alchemy, and that’s all about enhancing the natural properties of the ingredients, so… Maybe something with chocolate?”

“Cacao would be best. Yes, I already have some ideas. A final cocktail before couples retire to the bedroom…” Diana grinned. “Okay, now I’m excited. This is actually a great idea. Do you really think you can pull it off?”

“If I get enough practice, yeah. Isabelle isn’t coming back until the afternoon, so we have the house free. Mind helping me?”

“I’d be happy to. Can you watch Red for a while? I’ll go buy what we need.”

“We have a few liquors here,” I told her.

“Dear, I’m not using your mother’s liquors for testing. Besides, your training is my responsibility but it’s paid by Luke so long as I show the receipts.”

“Oh. Well, if he’s paying…”

“Also, mind if I put a few empty glasses in the freezer?”

“No, go ahead.”

Diana kissed my cheek and went out while I watched Cake and Red. Took a chance and removed the muzzle from him, too. It was really weird to watch because they just kept staring at each other. Cake would walk around the living room and Red would follow her with his eyes, yet make no move to approach. At most he would sit up, lay down and then sit up again, like he was expecting something to happen yet not making the first move. Pretty smart, honestly. If Mint and Chip taught us anything, it’s that Cake doesn’t like to be followed around.

It was about 20 minutes of that before Cake finally gave in. She ran Red and stopped right in front of him. Red, in turn, assumed the classic playing position of lowering his head, front paws forward and raising his bum. I kept his leash loose and watched them run around taking turns chasing each other. When Diana returned, they were still at it.

“You think we’re good?” I asked her.

“Too early to tell, but this is way better than I was expecting. It’s a relief. I don’t think I could win if you had to choose between me and your cat.”

“It’s less about winning and more like she’d kill me in my sleep if I chose anyone else over her.”

We let Red off the leash and let the two of them play. Once they were tired we’d introduce Mint and Chip to Red as well. Meanwhile Diana and I went to the kitchen and kept an eye on the pets from there.

“Okay, what are we making?” I asked Diana, seeing the bottles she had brought. Some were big, some were very tiny, all of different colors.

“I have something specific in mind,” she said. “The issue is whether or not the process of mixing the drink is also important. What we’re making is mixed in the glass itself.”

“I… actually don’t know and I don’t think Frey knows, either. So… You tell me how to make the cocktail and Frey and I will handle the magic stuff. We can figure out the details from there.”

Diana nodded. “What we’re making is a chocolate negroni. We don’t have any specialized tools or quality ice here, so just take it easy, okay? We’ll use a shot glass as a measuring cup. I don’t know how you’re going to do the… magic stuff, but let’s do it without it it first, okay?”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“First, add three dashes of chocolate bitters to the cold glass.”

I did it. Three dashes.

“Pour some crème de cacao on the shot glass, then pour that into the cold glass.”

I filled about half the shot glass with the cacao stuff the poured it into the big glass.

“Fill the shot glass with sweet vermouth, pour it into the cold glass, then do the same with campari and gin.”

Sweet vermouth, campari and gin. Good thing these bottles have the names in big letters. Makes it easy to know which is which.

“Now pour some ice and stir.”

We happened to have a long, thin spoon and Diana told me to use that because it was similar to the ones used to stir ice in bars. She didn’t say anything, and her eyebrow didn’t even move, but I had a feeling my clumsy stirring hurt her soul.

“Now, for the final touch… and orange wedge.”

“Inside the glass?”

“No, on the rim.”

I cut an orange wedge then made a cut in it and placed it in the rim of the glass.

“And there you go, a chocolate negroni,” Diana said, smiling at me. “Try it.”

With it having so many strong liquors, I was a little hesitant, but I needed to know how this thing I made tasted, didn’t I? It was strong and bittersweet, but the chocolate was definitely there.

“What do you think?” Diana asked.

“I don’t know if I can say I like it, but I don’t hate it. Want to try it?”

I offered the glass to Diana and she took it, taking a sip from it before placing it down on the table.

“What do you think?”

She came up to me, kissed me on the cheek, and with a loving smile and a beautiful giggle, said, “It’s awful.”

“Ouch.” I laughed.

“I have very high standards, okay? And so will our customers. There’s no problem with this as a drink you make at home, but keep in mind we couldn’t serve this to a customer.”

I nodded again. This wasn’t Diana telling me I did a bad job. She wasn’t expecting me to make an amazing drink in my first try, much less using ice from the fridge and without proper measuring tools. To understand what makes something good, you have to understand what something bad looks like.

“Now… Think you can give it a shot using magic?” she asked.

I swallowed hard, but got myself ready to try again.

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