The Demon Drink
Want to have a good night out? What about a relaxing lie-in? Need to negotiate a business deal? Fight a duel? The demon drink makes your life the very best it can be. It's all about summoning the right demon, right into your glass.The demon drink is an alcoholic shot that contains the dissolved soul of a Demon. Drinkers enter a state of possession in which the demon's attributes and powers are overlaid onto their own. Imbibing an Asmodean, for instance, greatly enhances the drinker's sexual potency. This possession usually lasts until the alcohol passes from the drinker's system. Some claim that repeated possessions, particularly over months or years, can lead to severe illnesses such as Hunter's Paralysis and Runny Skin. The liquor industry, however, reassures the drinker that nothing has been conclusively proven beyond a shadow of a doubt.- Marketing copy by D. Brunner & Co. Distillery
Mechanics & Inner Workings
Drinkers delight in watching bartenders drop the crystal into the liquor so it can dissolve. Depending on the type of crystal, demon, and liquors involved, the crystal might fizz colorful bubbles, set the alcohol on fire, emit a cloud of perfumed smoke, or even kick off a mini fireworks show.
Once they consume the shot, the alcohol infuses into their physical body while the demonic soul (greatly weakened by the summoning and dissolving process) infuses into their spiritual body, aka their soul. There, the demon's attributes are overlaid onto the drinkers, sharpening specific senses and instincts as well as dulling others. The alcohol also has its usual effect, and bartenders serving up Belphagorian shots know to buckle in for a long night.
Manufacturing process
An alchemist bartender needs two basic things to make the demon drink: a crystal entrapping the soul of a demon and a compatible liquor.
It takes an alchemist to make sure the container crystal and demonic soul are compatible, as well as to safely shave off the correct amount of the crystal to infuse into the drink. "Accidents" during the summoning process have been known to take out entire city blocks, either through straightforward explosions or sending the summoner on a bloody, possessed rampage. In the modern era, summoning is relatively routine and often performed in industrial quantities on distillery grounds.
On the other hand, it takes a bartender to know what crystals will dissolve in which kinds of alcohol and lead to a drinkable final product. Different demonic souls possess different flavors, from the heavy musk of the Belphagorian to the spicy kick of a Seitanic to the smooth, fresh mint of a Beelzabite.
History
Reliable information on the demon drink's early history is difficult to come by--though naturally several drinking halls and other such establishments claim to have invented it in their attempts to lure customers. What is known is that drinking demons became a well-established practice shortly after the discovery of the Vault dimension. Vault Hunters are known to be heavy drinkers, particularly of Mammonites (to enhance their looting) and Seitanic demons (to enhance their fighting).
Recently, the Daughters of Temperance have begun campaigning for the elimination of alcohol, specifically the demon drink, in the Albion Empire as well as its adjoining Duchy of Stapland and Gauri in the East. This women-led crusade has had some limited success convincing individual cities and provinces--as well as the whole nation of Gauri--to go dry.
Item type
Consumable, Magical
Related ethnicities
Related Condition
Rarity
Selectively banned under local Prohibitions in the Albion Empire, Duchy of Stapland, and Gauri.
Freely available on the Isle of Alipes, Ogun, the Republic of Erlang Shen, Futen, and the Grand Kingdom of Do'urmok.
Weight
1.5 ounces
Raw materials & Components
- Demon soul essence
- Alcohol (notably absinthe, gin, vodka)
- Mixers (notably cream, citrus fruit juices and liquers)
Tools
- Ritual summoning circle
- Salt
- Containment crystals
- Crystal shaver
- Mixing glass
- Shaker
- Strainer
- Swizzle stick
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