Stovokor

Historically, Klingons on Star Trek have been shown drinking blood wine and the caffeinated beverage Raktajino—cocktails have never been the battle-minded, spacefaring people’s thing, at least not in the franchise so far. But that hasn’t stopped bartenders from finding inspiration for their craft in the fierce alien race. Bartender Alexandra Kuechler-Caffal is devoted to her love of all-things Trekkie, so she created this Trek-inspired riff on a Manhattan to conjure the spirit of Stovokor, the Klingon’s afterlife.

While Klingons are all about their blood wine, most members of the Federation turn their noses up at it. That’s probably a fair assumption to make about most drinkers in our world, too, so rather than trying to recreate it, Kuechler-Caffal turned to more popular earth drinks, namely the Manhattan. Rather than use rye or bourbon, though, she uses rum—specifically, Appleton Estate rum from Jamaica. Appleton Estate is a popular brand, one that works exceptionally well in many drinks, including Daiquiris and Rum Old Fashioneds. It’s affordable and easily found, so there shouldn’t be a compelling reason to swap it out, but if you have another aged rum on hand and want to use that, feel free.

More specific is the vermouth used. Rather than a wheelhouse sweet vermouth, like what you’d find in a standard Manhattan, Kuechler-Caffal uses Cocchi barolo chinato, a delicious bittersweet and complex aromatized wine. It’s similar to other sweet vermouths, but with the telltale bitterness of cinchona, or quinine. To balance the bitterness, the drink also gets a half ounce of dry curaçao from Pierre Ferrand—this elegant orange liqueur should not be confused with its cheaper, often cloying orange and blue curaçao cousins. There are a few brands making high quality dry curaçao, and Pierre Ferrand makes an exceptional version, one that will bring glory to your house when you use it in the Stovokor.

Keep in mind that with rum, fortified wine and orange liqueur, the Stovokor packs a punch as hard as any Klingon’s; don’t go swinging your bat’leth around after enjoying a few, tempted as you may be.

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