[Mixology 101] Impromptu Lesson

When Macallan wasn’t tending to his liquor store around the more quiet part of the shopping district, he was either spending time winding down at his cushy studio apartment, or aimlessly strolling around his favorite venues. The large bun was never really seen with a ‘plus one’ – as he tended to prefer his own company. His presence alone made people come to their own conclusions about why he was typically alone and lost in thought. Of course, he would let other buns think what they wanted to. Macallan had a lot of other things to worry about.

One of those things being where he was going to indulge his taste for expensive drinks tonight; Macallan could feel his stomach growling at him in protest. He wasn’t particularly good at paying attention to his eating schedule this past week since his liquor store had garnered a rather large influx of new customers in a short amount of time. His shop was in fact one of the only places you could get rare and exclusive alcohol, and word got around. His calendar was packed.

It didn’t take Macallan long to pick one of his favorite bars that everyone obviously knew about: The Rabbit Hole. Despite how crowded it could get, he could usually find a lone spot at a high-top table for two, or a barstool at the end of the bar itself. There he could converse with the popular mixologist, Hops, who was famous for her interesting drinks that she served.

Upon seeing his large figure approach the bar, Hops immediately lit up and waved the large man over. His hooves nearly shook the floorboards as he casually made his way to the bar. “Mac! Good to see you! I was actually hoping you’d stop by tonight,” the purple-haired bartender chipperly exclaimed as Macallan awkwardly sat on one of the barstools that was clearly a bit too small for him.

With a deep, hearty chuckle, the larger of the two folded his hands together and leaned his arms on the surface of the bar. “Evenin’, little lady.” Macallan raised an eyebrow at her statement. “Me, you say? What for?”

Hops began pulling out some ingredients and a glass as she responded. “I’m a liiiiitle offended that you never bothered to ask me to show you how I work my own mixing magic… but I’ll let it slide since I’m not terribly busy right now!” She had an obvious teasing tone in her voice.

They both visited each other's place of work from time to time, and they had built a friendly rivalry over their love of drinks. Macallan wasn't into mixology as much as he was indulging and educating himself on the finer brands of alcohol. Not to say that Hops didn't have class! Her inventions were just out of his wheelhouse and he could never wrap his head around them.

Macallan smirked and observed her as she gathered the last of her tools; some of which he wasn’t familiar with. Some metal measuring tools, it looked like. “Well alright, I’m all ears… well, eyes, I guess.”

Hops became a showboat upon hearing that she had his rapt attention. Pouring about a quarter bottle of pricey whiskey into a small, round glass. Followed by the same amount of red wine afterwards. Macallan found it extremely peculiar, in all honesty. Neither of those drinks should mix, in his opinion. However, Hops wasn’t done – she pulled out what appeared to be a small bag of mystery contents and didn’t hesitate to shake it into the glass, changing the color of the liquid completely into a rosy pink color. The scent of it was rather intoxicating and almost sickeningly sweet. Macallan instinctively scrunched his nose.

“Oh, uh… Wow, that wasn’t what I was expecting,” Macallan admitted, planting his chin in his hand and resting his elbow on the bar; tilting his head in observation at the newly made pink drink.

Hops smiled proudly and lifted the glass. “One more thing…” She moved the glass towards her lips and gave it a bold smooch, staining it with red lipstick before placing it down on a napkin with an identical mark, to which she pushed over to Macallan and flirtatiously winked. 

The larger bun blinked and couldn’t help but let out a genuine laugh. “You’re full of surprises, Miss Hops. Though, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m a little hesitant to ingest whatever you slipped in this drink from that little bag…”

Hops scoffed and waved dismissively. “Bah, don’t worry about it. Nothing weird’ll happen. I mean… Nothing too weird will happen. If you don't want it then I can just give it to someone else who does!”

Macallan stared at her long and hard before picking the drink up and shrugging. No amount of alcohol content would affect him much. And it wasn’t like Hops would do anything malicious, right? It was as if the smell wafting from the drink itself was drawing him in...

“Well, bottoms up.” 

It wouldn’t be long before he’d feel a strange growing sensation within his mouth after heading to bed that night…