Displacer Beasts were once the prized jailers and guards of the nobility that filled the upper ranks of the Unseelie Court.  After the Massacre At Harrowhome, however, their prized position grew scattered, and one too many instances of their allegiance being swayed fell dim upon the Dread Queen Mab.  In the Ruins of the Season, deep in the harrowed halls of the broken citadels of beasts and men, prides of Displacer Beasts roam and hunt.  
  But not all nobility has turned a blind eye to these creatures with a love for the kill.  Excellent trackers, a Displacer Beast may sometimes roam with hunters and assassins of a deadly order.  Creatures contracted to hunt their own, these "Skipjacks" utilize the Displacer Beast as a dangerous ally in their pursuit of their fellow Fey.

GM's Note: Since the first campaign I ran in this custom setting, there have been old tapestries, panoramas, ancient texts, and obscure references that player-characters have stumbled across.  Each lore drop would be a tiny morsel of a much larger picture; an eight-legged displacer beast with boney spurs around the jaw-line, multiple tendrils lifting from its back like a living mantle, and a crown of black and silver spines protruding from its head.  This regal creature was always set upon a high rock surrounded by hundreds of other beasts, each bowing to it as if it were their king.  
  The first time this image was presented, I remember my players vigorously writing it down.  At any point following this, any players to be present during this strange initial reveal would bring it up again if ever they fell into an encounter with a Displacer Pride, but little came of it.  
​  Will we see more?  Only my players can tell you...

Tread safely under the borealis of the Feywild.
-Adamus

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Today we'll swing by an old classic, its punchy siblings, and practice our alchemy in the construction of my own version.

Our case study falls the Alabama.  
  Simple cocktail; just a couple ingredients and some sour mix.  Let's try it out to get a feel for its many variations.

As is customary with so many older recipes, every braggart and boon under the pale white moon has had their way in the alchemical variations on a simple idea.  Some of these get pretty involved, but each holds to one dynamic truth: Southern Comfort pairs well with Amaretto.  The rest is garnish, displayed for you now.

Alabama Slammer (original) RECIPE
3/4 oz Orange Vodka (or just Vodka)
3/4 oz Southern Comfort
3/4 oz Amaretto
Dash of Sloe Gin or Grenadine
Fill with Orange Juice

TASTING NOTES
​+ This is Hawaiian Fruit Punch
+ A tiki drink if there ever was one
+ Sweet and masked (you could load this up with stronger liquors and no one would notice...which might be the point)
+ Orange foundation

For those paying attention (at your chair or on the floor, you do you), you might have picked up on the basic flavor profile presented by these tiki tocks (tiki-cocktail = tock...I made a word).  The core of the drink is a fruity whiskey with an oak-y, cherry finish; the cloak is the orange juice - acidic, sweet, and masking.
  By now you all know my struggles in the Nine Hells Of GERD, so I made a rendition that I believe honors the original intention of the Slammer while lowering its acid content and using less ingredients.

Original Recipe - The Orland Slammer
1/2 Dry Curacao (the richer Triple Sec)
3/4 oz Orange Vodka
3/4 oz Bird Dog Black Cherry Whiskey
2 oz Sour Mix

TASTING NOTES
+ Dry Curacao does some heavy lifting and elevates the vodka
+ Orange punch with less cloy
+ Sweet and satisfying
+ Slight burn on the back
+ Bird Dog made something special that functions just as well as the Southern Comfort/Amaretto pairing, and it gets it done with a lower volume.

Imbibe well, my dear friends.
-Adamus