Video Review: ‘Star Trek Cocktails: A Stellar Compendium’ Is A Bar Book Fit For A Trekkie

TrekMovie recently got its hands on the latest Star Trek themed cocktail book and promptly handed it over to me, our resident mixologist, for a full review. I tried my hand at three recipes from Star Trek Cocktails: A Stellar Compendium and filmed the results (plus some tips and tricks for the aspiring home barmaid).

This isn’t the first Star Trek cocktail book in existence and certainly isn’t the first Trekkie recipe book, but this one is worth owning. For anyone who likes to entertain or wants to try their hand at making fancy drinks at home, Star Trek Cocktails delivers with recipes from simple to complex, from traditional to newly created Trek recipes just for the book, and all delicious.

The majority of drinks in this book can be made using simple tools and ingredients. Some require specialty liqueurs, but it’s worth purchasing these as they can be surprisingly inexpensive and carry a lengthy shelf life. You will most certainly need measuring devices (a shot glass can be used in a pinch, knowing that a standard U.S. shot glass is 1.5 oz), a shaker (yes it makes a difference if it is shaken or stirred, and not just in a pretentious James Bond kind of way— this matters!), and a blender for a few of the drinks (one of which we review: the Ice Planet).

Star Trek Cocktails: A Stellar Compendium retails for around $22 on Amazon

Three cocktails for your consideration

For our video review, I tried my hand at three cocktails from different sections of the book: T’Pol’s Vulcan Grasshopper (Journey to Babel section), Ice Planet (Shore Leave section), and Jean-Luc’s Earl Grey Martini (First Contact section).

Three recipes we tried our hands at.

T’Pol’s Vulcan Grasshopper
There isn’t anything particularly Vulcan about T’Pol’s grasshopper, but the grasshopper is a fun traditional drink and great as an after dinner mint chocolate delight. It’s something I wanted to add to my repertoire, so I felt it was a good pick. The grasshopper is a simple drink to make and feels very fancy, particularly if you shake it well in a shaker half-filled with ice. This gives the drink a frothy texture. For lovers of Andes mints, this drink is sure to please.

• 2 tbsp crème de menthe
• 2 tbsp crème de cacao (clear/”white” variety)
• 2 tbsp single cream (half and half works well here)

Mix all ingredients in a shaker half filled with ice. For all drinks made in a shaker, my advice is to shake WELL. My rule of thumb: if you’re using a single-walled shaker (like I did), shake until the shaker is too cold to hold in your hand, then shake a bit more. This effect is less obvious when the shaker is only half full, so don’t kill yourself with all the shaking for this drink. But shake hard and for a good while to chill and froth your grasshopper. Serve in a coupe or any stemmed cocktail glass.

My Vulcan Grasshopper. Mine is white since I used clear crème de menthe, which is usually a green color. The fun of this is that I can make it any color using food coloring!

Ice Planet
This is the perfect drink for chilling. It’s icy, citrusy, tangy, and blue! I don’t know if this is a play on a classic drink, but to my knowledge this is a new one. This drink is blended but not smoothie like. Don’t think piña colada. Think more like partially melted slush from the drive-in.

• 1 1/4 oz white rum
• 4 tsp blue curacao (gives it the blue color and orange flavor)
• 4 tsp lime juice (I always recommend fresh squeezed!)
• 1 tbsp gomme syrup (sugar syrup is fine)
• 4 tsp lemonade

Mix everything except the lemonade into a blender, and add some ice. This is the tricky part — how much ice to add? Again, you don’t want this to be a smoothie. About 5-6 ice cubes worked for me. Too much ice and the drink loses its flavor. Err on too little ice rather than too much. Blend just to break up the ice and mix the ingredients. Pour into a short cocktail glass (I used diamond shaped whiskey glasses). Finally, pour the lemonade on the top for an icy layered effect.

Ice Planet. An icy, zingy summer drink. Makes me want to go to Risa.

Jean-Luc’s Earl Grey Martini
This drink really astounded me. It sounds like it would be horrible. Gin, lemon, and dark tea? I read this and assumed the worst. I’ve tried my hand at “Jean-Luc’s Earl Grey” this or that recipe in the past and they’ve never worked out. This one REALLY hits the mark, though! It comes together as something like a lemon drop, but with gin instead of vodka making for a smoother less sharp feel. And the addition of the Earl Grey tea honestly really makes the drink. It just adds that little bit of spice and reminds me of adding a tiny bit of lemon to my hot tea, but in reverse. I don’t know that Jean-Luc would actually choose this drink; it seems a bit fancy for him. But I think he would enjoy it secretly in his quarters.

• 2 oz gin (I highly recommend Aviation for this)
• 1 1/4 oz cold Earl Grey tea
• 1 oz lemon juice (fresh squeezed if you can!)
• 1/2 oz sugar syrup

Mix all ingredients into a shaker FULL of ice. Yes I mean completely full. In a standard sized (1 US Pint or 16 oz) cocktail shaker full to the top with ice, you can get two drinks in there. Now shake it like you mean it (see my advice under the Grasshopper recipe above). The shaking is really the key to get an ice cold, crisp cocktail experience. Serve in a martini glass or fancy wine glass.

Possibly my favorite of the three drinks shown here: Jean-Luc’s Earl Grey Martini. Exquisite gin drink for any occasion.

The ins and outs: What’s in the book?

The book is broken down into multiple sections. You can choose a beverage that suits the moment. Looking for something to cool off on a hot summer day? Head on to the “Shore Leave” section (“cocktails for chilling”). Want to set the scene for a romantic after dinner drink? Try Chapter 3, “Holodeck Honeymoon”.

Left: Q-Pid, a vodka cherry drink from Holodeck Honeymoon. Right: Live Long And Prosper, a fizzy tequila and juice drink from the Shore Leave section

Along with the recipes, however, is what makes the book really shine: the pages of commentary and illustrations describing the recipes and how and why we drink them. There are also quotes from Star Trek peppered throughout along with the illustrations.

Kernels of Star Trek wisdom are peppered throughout the book.

Available now

Star Trek Cocktails: A Stellar Compendium published by Hero Collector, a division of Eaglemoss, is put together nicely and is something you would be proud to have on display in your kitchen. The 154-page hardback book with glossy pages is available now. You can pick it up at Amazon for $22.46. There is also a Kindle version available for $19.24.

 

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