If you haven’t yet read The Realm Below, book 2 in the Space Between series, then you probably don’t know that at the end of the book there’s a little pilón, as my mother used to call it. That’s a Spanish word that in Mexico means “something extra.” The pilón in this case is a short appendix offering two original cocktail recipes that The Daughter came up with after the release of The Space Between. They’re inspired by the descriptions of mulsus (a favorite drink of my faery characters) in the books.

I’m writing this a few days before Glen and I are scheduled to go out of town to visit Katie—and The (best) Son-in-Law (in the world), Wesley—and if all goes as planned, by the time you read it we should have been back home for a couple of days. But since we’ll still be trying to get caught up after our return, the appendix will be part of today’s post.
Both mulsus versions below are exceptional, but then, Katie’s cocktails are always worth sharing. In fact, she has started recording cocktail-making videos that she posts at intervals on her YouTube channel, Take Your Time Gaming (the channel mostly features Katie and Wesley, separately and together, in hilariously snarky gaming episodes). The cocktail videos are entertaining and informative (especially fun when viewed on a TV), and each time I watch one I resolve to shake things up a bit (ha!) to make the cocktail hour more interesting. And oh, how I envy her technique with a cocktail shaker! My so-called technique makes me look like I’m caught in a cement mixer.

These drinks have pronounced, assertive flavors, so if you feel the need of accompanying nibblies, I recommend something fairly bland that won’t compete for your taste buds’ attention. Macadamias, for instance, or sesame sticks.

And now, here is the appendix:

Readers,

I didn’t want to leave you without this little extra something: two sophisticated recipes for mulsus that my daughter Katie, a skilled and enthusiastic crafter of cocktails, has created especially for the Space Between series.

The mulsus imbibed in the books is not a cocktail, being more of a honey-sweetened liqueur or cordial made from the fermented needles of the yew trees growing on the grounds of the Keep. It’s an acquired taste and even small amounts are poisonous for non-faeries. The Daughter’s versions, however, are quite delicious, while still hinting at the aromatic, resinous quality mulsus is known to have.

You won’t need to drink these cocktails from tiny, dark-tinted glasses like the Penitents do. Neither one looks anything like pond scum, thank heavens. Though Adrian tells Mellis in The Space Between, “We like to drink it, but we try not to look at it,” Katie decided that in our world, we can do without cocktails that look disgusting, so there is no food coloring in the recipes. You can easily find online the method for making clover honey syrup.

The first recipe is a little closer to what I envision the taste of faery mulsus to be. The bitters are an essential component, making this version taste like a very pricy cocktail served at an elegant restaurant. The second recipe is polished and urbane, but a little more accessible.

Enjoy!

Mulsus #1

1.5 oz London Dry Gin
1 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
.35 oz Bärenjäger
.35 oz 1:1 clover honey syrup
.25 oz Green Chartreuse
.25 oz Yellow Chartreuse
4 drops Prohibitters

Shaken and strained into a chilled coupe.

Mulsus #2:

1.5 oz London Dry Gin
1 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
.45 oz 1:1 clover honey syrup
.35 oz Bärenjäger
.25 oz Green Chartreuse
.25 oz Yellow Chartreuse
.25 oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
1 dash Orange Bitters

Shaken and strained into a chilled coupe.