The Fan's Good Brew

The John Watson

Ingredients: Black coffee, hazelnut syrup.

John Watson is the lone fixed point in the wildly oscillating life of Sherlock Holmes.  He functions as an anchor, a constant, a solid rock, a modicum of the mundane—but he’s certainly not quite ordinary, either.  He has nerves of steel and is willing to do whatever it takes to protect his Sherlock.

In a world obsessed with sweetening and dilution, John (famously) doesn’t take sugar in his coffee.  Neither is he sweetened or diluted.  He may seem more human than Sherlock most of the time, but I would argue that he is the more objectively dangerous of the two.  Hence the base of this drink: black coffee, preferably made to be twice as strong as usual.  Reliable, serious, strong, intense: all words that describe John Watson.  John is not a simple character, though, and he’s not as harsh as an unadorned black coffee would suggest.  A shot of hazelnut flavoring is an appropriate addition.  Subtle and somewhat domestic, the hazelnut augments the strength of the black coffee to create a taste that is both recognizable and slightly unusual.

I find this drink to be a great fit for John Watson.  It’s always stimulating but comforting, a great way to start the day.  I drank it during my first two classes this morning.

Coming soon!

The Virgin* Sherlock Holmes

Ingredients: Three shots of espresso, ice, chai.

Sherlock, the world’s only consulting detective, is an incredibly unique man.  Brilliant, aloof, and complex, his powers of deduction are only matched by his powers of making people hate him.  

I thought a chai with espresso would be perfect for Sherlock.  Although chai seems to be an unusual choice—chai itself is certainly not a very Sherlock-esque drink—the espresso added to it makes it fit.  Chai is a tea mixed with Indian spices, inherently a complex drink.  This complexity is only heightened by the taste of the espresso, which gives the drink an extra kick as well.  Intense and complex: a very Sherlockian combination.  The final touch—the ice—is self-explanatory.

I drank this while watching The Great Game.  It fit Sherlock’s intense, brooding, and slightly manic performance in this episode very well, as well as giving me a great caffeine kick for the rest of the night.

I highly recommend it.

*bears no relation to Moriarty’s nickname for Sherlock.  This drink should be made with a shot of whiskey, but I didn’t have any on hand.