Covers & Cocktails: Storming the Castle

Hi. My name’s Amanda and I can’t stop talking about The Blacksmith Queen by G.A. Aiken.

If you missed it, I loved this damn book. It’s more fantasy than romance, but still has Aiken’s affinity for writing all types of strong, amazing women. Even the “bad” ones were admirable in their one ways and I wanted to raise a glass to these characters.

The cover is gorgeous, with red tones and little sparks of fire. The main character, Keeley, is a blacksmith. She has such a sweetness and earnestness to her; she really cares about everyone she meets, but don’t mistake her kindness for weakness. If you do, you’ll be on the unfortunate end of her huge hammer.

The Blacksmith Queen
A | BN | K | AB
For the base of this drink, I chose a rum and coke because it’s so customizable with different flavors. The use of spiced rum adds a slight kick to the sweetness of the soda. I went with cherry coke because it reminds me of being a kid and Keeley longs for the simplicity of childhood before her sister left the family. I loved their relationship in the book and I look forward to seeing it grow and hopefully be repaired in the next installment.

Small splashes of grenadine and cherry juice help add a red tinge to the drink (if you’re holding it up to the light). To me, it lightens the rum and enhances the cherry flavors in the soda.

And the name: Storming the Castle. I was inspired by the scene in The Princess Bride where Miracle Max tells Westley and company to “have fun storming the castle.” This quote just speaks to me for this book because Keeley and her family face some rather daunting things, but they always do it with such flair, fun, and badassery

Ingredients for a cherry rum and coke

Shopping list:
Spiced rum
Cherry soda
Grenadine
Cocktail cherries

Proportions:
3 oz. soda
2 oz. spiced rum
1/2 oz. grenadine
2 tbsp. cherry juice

Directions:

  1. Fill a glass with ice.
  2. Add ingredients.
  3. Give it a stir.
  4. Voila!

Modifications and notes:

  • All of the products used are my favorite brands. I highly recommend all of them, but if you have a personal preference, go for it.
  • I used the cherry juice from my jar of Luxardo cherries. I love these things and they aren’t overly sweet and the juice is more like a syrup.
  • Putting a few cherries at the bottom of the drink is a nice little treat for when you finish. #BoozyFruitBitch

A glass of rum and coke next to the review of The Blacksmith Queen

Cheers, everyone!

Comments are Closed

  1. FashionablyEvil says:

    Luxardo cherries are so good I’m willing to overlook fact that they cost $18 a jar. Few things give me a more consistent little thrill of delight than fishing a boozy cherry out of the bottom of my Manhattan. (Also, did you know that they bleach Maraschino cherries and the color them red? They do.)

    Manhattan recipe:
    2oz rye (I like Rittenhouse)
    1oz sweet Vermouth (Dolin is good)
    Angostura bitters
    Two cherries

    Dash bitters in the bottom of a rocks glass. Add rye, vermouth, and cherries and stir with ice.

  2. Elyse says:

    The Kraken!

  3. Amanda says:

    @Elyse: I released the Kraken!

  4. roserita says:

    This reminds me of a quote from the climax of Ilona Andrews’ new book “Sapphire flames” that made me ridiculously happy: “Follow me,” Linus ordered. “And cheer up. We’re about to embark on a killing spree accompanied by massive property damage. Try to have fun.”

  5. DonnaMarie says:

    Ha! I just finished Grace Draven’s Phoenix Unbound in which they actually did storm the castle.

    The cocktail sounds yummy. And I have that frat party sized bottle of rum from Costco. And it’s cooled off enough that mojitos aren’t as enticing. And I can fish some cherries out of the latest bach of cherry bounce aging in the pantry.

    Well, there’s my Friday night planned.

    Also, the book was great!

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