Outlander Cocktails: The Official Drinks Guide Inspired by the Series

by James Shy Freeman, Diana Gabaldon (foreword)

Travel back in time with Claire and Jamie, drinking—and eating—your way through their adventures from the Scottish Highlands to the New World in this gorgeous book featuring 90 recipes for cocktails, nonalcoholic offerings, and plenty of bar bites.Grab your cocktail shaker and dive into Outlander Cocktails!Whether you’re just learning to make cocktails at home, looking for creative ways to expand your cocktail knowledge, or throwing an Outlander watch party, this book will be your perfect guide.Inspired by Diana Gabaldon’s beloved book series, Outlander Cocktails presents the historical perspective on drinking culture in the eighteenth and twentieth centuries as well as the origins of different spirits such as scotch, whiskey, rum, and ale. You’ll • Thorough background pertaining to each type of spirit involved.• Drinks organized by category such as aperitifs, spirit-forward, after-dinner, and nonalcoholic options.• 75 cocktail recipes inspired by the series and by history, like the Bobby Burns and Angelus Bells and the Brandy and Splash that Claire and Roger first drank at the pub at Inverness, plus modern drinks like Collecting the Rents and Pink Linen Gown.• 15 recipes for food pairings, like Deviled Scotch Eggs, Crispy Fish Cakes with Saffron Aioli, and Chocolate Almond Shortbread.Outlander Cocktails offers something for any fan who wants to spend more time in the rich world of Outlander, drinking and eating with everyone’s favorite Highlanders.

Genres: Cookbooks, Outlander

240 pages, Hardcover

Published August 6, 2024

Reviews

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I'm assuming no one will pick up this book that's not already an Outlander fan, I'm giving you my rating as a rabid fan, but also from the perspective of someone who's spent a ridiculous (worrying?) amount of time actively interacting with cocktail recipe books for the last 5+ years (yes, that means I've spent a ridiculous amount of time and money collecting premium liquors and a ridiculous amount of calories ingesting them.) Diana's introduction is of course hilarious, as she always is with this type of thing. The obligatory "introduction to mixology" sections at the beginning (which are included in every cocktail book, I guess on the assumption that this is the only cocktail recipe book you will ever own) walked a good balance between being informative while not being overly detailed. They're written with a decent sense of humor and respect for the fandom. The recipes are not all original to this book, but the intro for each recipe works really well to explain why it's included and try to tie it into either the books or the show. As both a superfan and an amateur mixologist, it flips all my switches. I also really like that there's a non-alcoholic section and a food recipes section--now my menu is set for the Season 8 premiere party!
I will say that a lot of the recipes may be somewhat inaccessible to the casual home bartender, depending on where they live and/or their budget. While I've reached the point of only missing a few of the ingredients, as someone who lives in the Bible Belt, within and surrounded by alcohol-controlled states, I've had to work pretty hard to collect a lot of these over the years by visiting liquor stores in every state I visit. But it does mean that I can appreciate the craft behind these recipes, and I'm excited to work my way through them all. The book does a good job of giving you notes with ideas of how to sub out some ingredients that may be harder to find, and the intro does recommend playing with variations of the recipes. There are some more complex infusions, syrups, and tinctures included, but they seem to all be decently achievable if you want to exert the effort. I've enjoyed every drink I've made so far, and I'm definitely aiming to hit 100% on this one (even if it means I have to hunt down and consume another bottle of Cardamaro just to do so.)

[Emilee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really intriguing cocktails, many of them I would consider more advanced to make. Mostly because the flavor profiles are very different and might be a little hard to find or make. I’m not a huge fan of scotch and most of the recipes call for it but it is an Outlander cookbook so it’s expected and I will be interested to give it a try. I appreciate some appetizer recipes (with pairings) to round out the experience. Great option for outlander fans

[Linds · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was well made and not just slapped together to cash in on Outlander. Cocktails mostly of whisky and scotch. I would say this is an advanced cocktail recipe book with unusual, complicated, but intriguing recipes.

[Taylor Cantwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many fantastic cocktails in this book. I’m making Diana’s Mimosa this weekend because I love anything with Luxardo!

[E G Melby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m NOT trying an offal old-fashioned. But I will try some of the other recipes. Bonus points for N/A recipes too.