The Origins of Dragonfire Whiskey

Dragonfire whiskey, possibly the most well-known and well-loved whiskey throughout Belothar is my crowning acheivement. I got the recipe for this fine beverage from my grandfather who got it from his grandfather. When Samrian and I decided to open our first tavern in Drurora I proposed we start selling my family whiskey. She readily agreed and so, the first glass of Dragonfire Whiskey was sold to a stranger. He was a stout dwarven adventurer and he loved it so much he bought the whole barrel! Word must have got around because within six months we had people pouring in from all over Ak'Tey to get a taste of my whiskey. Everyone always asked for the recipe, but I kept it close to my chest.

I still remember when a drunken Goliath yelled out that I must be using the fire from real dragons! I neither confirmed nor denied this rumor, but the word spread. "Have you heard? Jhaeros sells whiskey made with real dragonfire! You simply have to try some!" Things had gotten quite out of hand. I tried to remedy the situation by telling people I had no dragons anywhere near my little tavern, but alas, no one believed me. Samrain had the bright idea to lean into it and embrace the rumors to the fullest extent. So that's just what we did. And then, on the one year anniversary of our grand opening, who should walk through the door but Encic himself! A great bronze Dragonborn warrior, darkening my own door! "Give me your strongest drink," he demanded. I got out my biggest glass and poured about two pints of the stuff for him. He drank it like a shot, gulping it down faster than anyone had been able to before. I, myself, could never drink that much at once! He slammed his mug on the table and looked straight at me. I was sure he hated it and would burn my tavern to the ground. But then the strangest thing happened. He offered to buy my recipe! Imagine that! My family's recipe being sold all the way on the other side of the world! And for no small sum either!

The thought truly excited me, but I was loathe to part with such a sacred heirloom. He gave me a week to think about it. I held a family meeting and we discussed it for days on end. Most of the family wanted me to sell. They wanted our legacy to reach the ends of the earth and live on well past our lengthy lives. Some the family wanted me to protect it and keep it only in our small town. In the end, I did decide to sell it. We invited Encic into our home to discuss the deal privately. He was quite bemused at the rumors the locals had started and he decided he wanted to lean into it, too. Especially being a dragonborn himself, this would be easy for him. We shook on it, and he went on his way. I never saw him again.

But as the years dragged on, I watched as my Dragonfire Whiskey became more and more popular. Within one hundred years it was stocked on every shelf. Within two hundred years, people forgot I was the original maker at all. Encic was great at marketing it. He did a much better job than I ever could have done. He even went so far as to hire a real dragon to journey with him and breathe flames over every town they visited just to celebrate my drink and get merchants to buy it! It has now been five hundred years since I've seen Encic. He's been long dead by now, but his legacy lives on in my drink. My family's legacy. While no one knows it was I who created the world's greatest drink, I know it. The patrons of Drurora know it. That's enough for an old Elf like me. It's funny-now that I think of it, my grandfather always hated dragons.