The drink recipes in Düngeonmeister: A Drink Master's Guide are divided into themed chapters, based on fantasy concepts such as Race, Class, Skills, Spells, Monsters, and In-game and Metagame concepts. Also, there's a chapter in the beginning of the book called "Tavern Basics" that provides some tips on mixing drinks, explains a few things, and provides some recipes and instructions for making a few commonly used mixers, such as Simple Syrup, Honey Syrup, and Sweet and Sour Mix, should you opt not to just purchase these ingredients pre-made.
Each drink recipe includes a Complexity rating between 1 and 3 stated clearly at the top left of the page. 1 is fairly straightforward, 2's are intended for drinks that are a little more difficult, and a Complexity level of 3 requires a bit of skill and paying attention... and is a bit more showy. There are only two drinks that have a Complexity of 3 in the Düngeonmeister: Epic Upgrade, which uses the magic of science to provide a cocktail that changes colors from blue to purple when you serve it and the Dwarven Forge, which you actually light on frickin' fire! (Please pay attention to the warnings on that one and mix with care.)
Additionally, in the top right, you'll find exactly what the recipe yields. Pay attention to this. Some result in one or two shots, others a single cocktail, while still others may be scaled to create eight cocktails or even an entire punch bowl. Further, one "cocktail" could mean anything from enough to fill an ice-filled tumbler to an empty tall hurricane glass. To know for sure, take a peek at the last step in the instructions, where it will tell you what type of glass you're pouring the cocktail into.
In addition to the above mentioned features and the ingredient list and the detailed step-by-step instructions, there is also a description or "flavor text", if you will, at the top of each recipe that introduces the drink, along with a "Düngeonmeister Tip" in an aside box at the bottom of each recipe. Both of these are where you will find RPG-themed wit related to the drink, making it more than just a basic list of recipes.
I have played tabletop RPGs on and off for around thirty years now, and most of that time I've played as wizards in groups that never worry much about spell components. As a result, I was gleefully aware of the wonderous knowledge that might be contained within this tome, but completely unprepared for the difficulty of the task of selecting drinks to try out and acquiring their ingredients. When I received a complimentary copy of Düngeonmeister: A Drink Master's Guide for review, I didn't have what one might call a "well-stocked bar." Despite the few bottles of this and that I had laying around, I did not have - on hand - the required ingredients to make any one drink from the book. Around one hundred and fifty dollars later, I could make several - but certainly not all - of the drinks contained within these pages.
In order to try a decent number of the drinks to have a reasonable sample to go by, I looked at the different ingredients and what drinks had what and attempted to put together a list of ingredients that would allow me to make the most number of drinks with the least components. If you weren't trying to evaluate the book, of course, you could select one or two of the drinks that sound best to you and simply purchase their ingredients. Still, I think observations on the diversity of ingredients is worthwhile, here, because it gives an idea of how well-stocked your bar needs to be to make your desired level of use of the book.
Based on the above, I will point out a few of the drinks I did not try:
Barbarian Rage is the biggest, baddest drink in the book, made with ten different spirits and liqueurs and an energy drink to create a single cocktail that weighs in at eighteen or more ounces (depending on how much energy drink you add). If your bar is extremely well-stocked in the essentials (and not favoring one person's preferences), you might be able to mix this one up; although it has a large number of components, they're each popularly used... they just don't usually hang out together like this.
Bard's Songs was avoided because one of its ingredients is Pimm's No. 1 Cup. I don't dislike that particular spirit, necessarily... I've never tried Pimm's No. 1 Cup. However, this is the only drink in the book that uses that particular spirit.
Slippery Grippli and, for that matter, the titular Düngeonmeister both include Butterscotch schnapps. But, those are the only two drinks in the book to use that, so I omitted those as well.
Rust Monster appears to be the most obstinate drink in the book, being composed of but two ingredients, neither of which are used in any other drinks in the book. I supposed this is fitting, however, as no one's ever accused a Rust Monster of playing well with others...
Rather than list all of the drinks we didn't try, I will let the above serve to give you an idea of what to expect of the drinks I didn't try due to rarity of ingredients. I also avoided anything that is intended to fill a punch bowl - yes, there are a couple of those - and anything with strong berry components we didn't already have on hand, since I'm the only person in my group who truly appreciates rich, dark berry favors. Let us, instead, proceed to those that we did try...
Potion of Glibness - Dark and fruity berry flavors are brightened up with a strong lemon lime touch and the least amount of alcoholic content of the lot.
Black Mana has a dark, coffee and chocolatey richness to it, which somehow avoided the bitterness typically found in dark coffee. If you like Dark chocolate and/or dark roasted coffee, then you might love Black Mana. My attempt at this drink came out a bit more boozy than intended, as a miscalculation ended up with a little bit more Vodka than the recipe requires. Also, as this is a coffee-based drink, if you find it too dark, you can feel free to add your choice of coffee flavor enhancers, be it creamer or flavored coffee syrups. As an example, I added a bit of Butter Cookie-flavored creamer to lighten it up a bit. Please note that, although it tasted good after adding the creamer, I found that I wished I hadn't, as it lost that deep, dark flavor that was the appeal of Black Mana, in the first place.
Flavored Enemy has orange and vanilla flavors, giving it a hit of orange creamsicle flavor... but without the creamy texture.
Point Blank Shot is a fitting name, considering its smoky taste. And its high alcoholic content. Seriously. This one's pure spirits.
Aasimartini is a martini with a creamy, coffee flavor, but the coffee flavor can be a bit dark, depending, of course, on your selection of espresso.
Half 'n' Half-Orc has a chocolate mint flavor that tastes like you're drinking an Andes' mint. I couldn't wait to try this one out, so before I actually had the required half-and-half, I tried mixing one up, substituting Aldi's brand Butter Cookie-flavored coffee creamer. That was absolutely delicious and decadent. When I got half-n-half in, I tried it as written and we conducted a comparison taste test. The result? If you like a sweeter richness to your chocolatey minty flavors, I highly recommend subbing in the flavored coffee creamer. If you prefer a stronger mint flavor, stick with the original recipe.
Sleep Immunity is another name for a Vodka Red Bull. Or, perhaps a Template for one, as the selection of energy drink is left to your discretion. A good many of the drinks are very close to an existing popular drink (more on that below), but this one is the exact same ratio as the Vodka Red Bull recipes that came up during an Internet search, but with an apt game-related name.
Stunning Smite immediately stuck out as a perfect drink for the holidays. Imagine the flavors of spiced apple cider and whisky (or whiskey, if you prefer) and a bit of maple syrup. This has Tennessee cabin Christmas written all over it.
Seduction Rolls, like the Stunning Smite, above, has a flavor that just reminds me of Christmases past, tasting somewhat like a Mulled Cranberry-Orange Cider, but not hot and with less complex flavor. Still, pretty good.
Royal Diplomacy feels sophisticated. Does that make any sense? Does is have to? If not "regal," it at least had a subdued complexity and depth that felt like it would be at home in finer houses and unlikely to be on the menu of any taverns down by the wharf. If incorporating this drink into your campaign, plan accordingly.
Turn Undead is an odd drink, indeed. Of the three of us trying these drinks, I was the only one who cared for this one at all and, even at that, it was more of an interest in the drink's complex taste, mixing the flavors of coffee and lemon.
Twin Strikes has a nice tropical, citrus flavor, not as complex as a margarita, perhaps, but something you might kick back with when vacationing in Trident Bay at a really hard-to-find little beach bar.
Blue Mana has a delightful, fresh and citrus-y flavor. This drink turned out to be a good bit darker bluish-green than the lighter blue depicted in the book's illustration, but the flavor is fresh and beachy and something I will be making again, for sure. Actually, this mix begs to be blended with ice, so I will have to try that at some point.
Red Mana tastes very much like Redhots candy, but as an adult beverage. I found this to be best poured over a large spherical ice cube, but that's a personal preference.
Kobold Fashioned is one of the easiest drinks to identify its popular name, if you will. The only difference I see here is the use of a lime twist instead of an orange twist as garnish.
Psionic Blasts may very well leave a little too much to the imagination. One of the included ingredients (for rimming) is Pop Rocks or other popping candy. Which I had. But it didn't so much as suggest what flavor to use, and I had three on hand to choose from: Beer, Bacon and Wasabi. What would Tasha do? Without further guidance, I opted for the Bacon, mainly because I didn't have vanilla frosting and used chocolate, instead... and what goes better together than bacon and chocolate? Also, I felt this drink was headed directly off the rails, so why not. The end result? Eh. It felt like perhaps the drink most dependent on a gimmick. The drink itself was okay, but not nearly as tasty as a Sweet and Sour-cerer or a 666 Layers.Of course, worth a special mention would be a few of our favorite drinks:
Wight Russian would, obviously, be another drink vying for most easily identifiable popular name. This take on a White Russian trades out vodka for white whiskey and adds a dash of bitters, to arrive at a drink that was one of the most delicious we mixed up, according to Psibabe. Only to be outdone by...
Fudge the Dice, which also has a touch of coffee flavor, but is primarily a scrumptious chocolatey blended drink which even features a hefty dose of chocolate ice cream. This is a tall drink, filling a Hurricane glass per serving. Sweet and Sour-cerer. The shortest, most apt description would be, "Imagine a Sonic Cherry-Limeade... but with alcohol." Easy, simple, sweet-tart and yummy.The 666 Layers of the Abyss... Now With Coconut is another blended frozen drink with hurricane glass-sized servings. This one adds a delicious cherry twist to the traditional Piña Colada, with a marbling effect which accounts for the name. This is my personal favorite, but then, they had me at Piña Colada.
Release the Kraken was quite possibly one of the cutest drinks. This drink is a rum drink, befitting the nautical theme, and uses gummy worms to portray the dangerous tentacles from the murky depths therein.
All-in-all, you get a total of seventy-five drink recipes. I've only touched on not quite one third of them, here. As far as I can determine, it appears that a few of the drinks included may actually be fairly original creations. Most of them, however, appear to be variants on popular drinks and some few drinks included within are simply existing popular drinks, although all of them have been given new names to fit the theme. Personally, I think that's completely fine in a themed cocktail recipe book, as long as the book indicates the popular name, as well. That way, if you learn how to make a specific drink and a visiting friend asks for that same drink, but by its real-world name, you can put your knowledge to work. Without this bit of information, the best you can hope for is an awkward exchange where you tell them you don't know that drink, but if they tell you what's in it, you can try to find something similar in the book, only to discover that their "cotillion" and your "wing-ding" are the same exact thing.
Because of this, I felt a bit let down, at first, that some form of cross-reference isn't provided in the book. It wouldn't have to be intrusively placed on each page; it could have simply been added as "see also" entries in the already pretty well-used index. Or, it could have been a single chart in the back of the book somewhere that says "if you like... you should try the..." with one column for the popular drink and the second column for the drink recipe in Düngeonmeister: A Drink Master's Guide that is either a re-named recipe or a variant on a popular drink. I'm pretty sure the target audience of RPG players would feel quite at home with a chart-in-the-back-of-the-book.
Well, I'm not going to hold that against Düngeonmeister, primarily because, thanks to my hours of research during the course of this review, I can provide exactly that for almost all of the drinks, via a link below. I have assembled just such a chart in the perfect size to be printed, cut out and either glued to the inside back cover or simply slipped in and used as a bookmark.
Overall, Düngeonmeister: A Drink Master's Guide presents a wide selection of interesting and, for the most part, delicious cocktails with a bit of gaming-themed wit, perfect for trying out and sharing with your adventuring party. The artwork, formatting, and presentation of the book is appealing and will look nice alongside tabletop RPG books, especially those of typical fantasy themes, given the book's deep, dark brown cover with gold lettering. Düngeonmeister: A Drink Master's Guide could make a great gift for any gamer friend with an interest in mixology or for the Dungeon Master of your drinking-age-appropriate gaming group.
