[1] If you want an engaging and entertaining discussion item at your next steampunk party or convention, former Louisville.com [3] writer Chris-Rachael Oseland has supplied your demand.
SteamDrunks: 101 Steampunk Cocktails and Mixed Drinks is a hilarious concoction of drinks and anecdotes to chew on and put your bloomers in a twist. Literally. Many of the drink recipes use milk, and Oseland uses her geeky wit to move you beyond the grossness and into the humor.
For example, after giving the instructions to creating Whiskey Milk she notes that these drinks were created in a time when anything liquid was probably full of deadly bacteria.
"Both water and milk were so unsafe, children often went from the breast straight to the pint. This calcium-rich recipe dangerously includes more milk than alcohol. Serve it either to bare knuckle boxers who live for danger or your least favorite son after he loses three fingers at the textile mill. Either way, buy some insurance first."
The book does have some less terrifying recipes and is separated into milk drinks, egg drinks, punches, tea cocktails, rum cocktails, whiskey cocktails, and Absynthe cocktails. Some of the cocktails are quite drinkable, although some of them seem downright ridiculous taking weeks to make properly. The author does claim that anyone using the Absynthe recipes at a convention will probably be the only one making a drinkable Absynthe cocktail, hinting that many conventioneers forget that less is more when it comes to Absynthe.
The amount of research put into this book is impressive. While this book may not have you rushing out to buy new ingredients and practice them on unsuspecting party guests or yourself, it does threaten to have you spitting milk and alcohol out your nose if you do. It actually lists quite a few recipes that use ingredients you may have sitting at home. Steampunk revelers aren't the only ones who would get a kick out of this book. It's a great conversation piece for any modern party as well. You can find it at Amazon.com for just $3.99 [4]