Mixology 101

Hoshi scratched his head, thinking. While this was interesting and all, it wasn’t really something he was super into, or understood. How did anyone memorize the names of ANY of these ingredients…? There were so many lining the shelves on the walls behind the bar, so many different shapes of bottles, names and labels that Hoshi felt dizzy trying to understand.

“You pour this in first!” Hops said, pouring what Hoshi assumed to be whiskey into a glass. He noted the shape of the glass, a classic whiskey glass. He huffed out a laugh to himself, at least he knew that much. This wasn’t a super complex recipe he’d been told, otherwise he wouldn’t have agreed to come along in the first place, because he knew he wouldn’t remember it if it was. Sinnamon Whiskey, Hoshi liked it, but it was a little too hot for his tastes, he preferred something more fruity and light.

“Then you get your cinnamon.” Hops continued, not even looking to see if Hoshi was paying attention. She got a pinch of cinnamon between her fingers, and gently dusted it into the whiskey, while using a little spoon to stir slowly, making sure it all dissolved. The spoon was cute, it had little bun ears on the end of it, it made Hoshi smile.

“And theeeen…” Hops produced a match, lit it, and within seconds there was fire in the drink, dancing on top of the liquid. Hoshi was a little mesmerized by it, he had to admit, and his eyes widened the smallest bit because of it.

“Woah,” Hoshi said, contributing nothing of value to this one-sided conversation.

“I know! Easy, right?” Hops chuckled, looking very proud of her work. Hoshi realized he didn’t know… Well, anything at all really, about Hops. He’d come here because a friend suggested he ‘get out and do things instead of staying cooped up in his nest of blankets.’ Thinking back to it made Hoshi pout.

“I guess, seems kind of… Too simple almost?” Hoshi said, tilting his head like a puppy.

“You don’t have to add a ton of stuff to a drink to make it good, this is a prime example of that,” Hops said, gently pushing the glass closer to him, urging him to drink it. Hoshi took it, blowing out the flames before sipping it. He forced his mouthful down, but his red face easily gave away that it was way too hot for him. Maybe he should start building a tolerance to these things, because it was honestly embarrassing how quickly he went to gulp down a glass of water.