Inspired by Tabletop Roleplaying

Bardic Inspiration

Make good choices

1.5 oz bonded applejack
1 oz Fey Mix*
3/4 oz apricot liqueur
1/2 oz lime juice
3 dashes plum bitters
1 dash cherry bitters
6 dashes fee foam

*Fey Mix: equal parts Cocchi Rosa, Fey Anmè, and Hpnotiq

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously 5–10 seconds without ice, then add ice and shake again until shaker is cold to the touch (about 10 seconds). Double strain into a chilled coupe, then drizzle cherry syrup (from the jar) over the top; it will sink to the bottom but leave a design. Use a pick to improve the design, then place an amarena cherry in the center of the design using the pick.

I learned to play Dungeons & Dragons as an adult. I eventually became a Dungeon Master (DM) myself, and have since taught nearly a hundred people how to play, including a friend and fellow DM who has long since surpassed me. He and I talk often about the predictable path trod by new players: sneering skepticism, followed by childlike delight, then the gleeful purchase of novelty dice with illegible numbers, dice towers they’ll never use, and custom miniatures (those are actually great, just get it painted, please). Inevitably, the last thing a fledgling D&D player figures out is perhaps the most consequential, at least mechanically: the action economy.