Burning witches and getting riled up in mass hysteria is thirsty, stressful work. That’s why the cast and crew of Bag&Baggage’s production of Arthur Miller’s 1953 play The Crucible, ostensibly about the Salem witch trials but also an allegory for McCarthyism, have created a series of terror-suppressing cocktails inspired by some of Miller’s most iconic lines and phrases from the play.“In all honesty, rehearsing The Crucible is both physically and emotionally demanding; there are only so many times you can accuse an innocent old women of magically murdering seven infants before you need a drink,” says artistic director Scott Palmer with his trademark wry (rye?) wit. “Cassie (Greer, the Assistant Director), Pete (Schuyler, who plays John Proctor), and I started laughing one rehearsal when Pete said ‘God’s icy wind will blow!’ and then paused and, with deadpan perfectness, said, ‘sounds like a cocktail.’”

Greer, who is a member of the Bag&Baggage Resident Acting Company and a bartender at Bazi Brasserie in SE Portland, immediately started working on the recipe, but it didn’t stop there. Within a few days, the cast had picked out dozens of cocktail names drawn from the script.

The Crucible Cocktail Collection is a selection of the five tastiest concoctions out of a list of more than 20 possible cocktails. “It was difficult to pare it down,” says Schuyler. “I mean, how can you not include cocktails with names like ‘A Broken Minister’ or ‘A Two Inch Needle?’”

B&B was kind enough to share the recipes with PoMo, so now you can slake your thirst on “The Kept Poppet”—but try not to down too much of “God’s Icy Wind.”

Or you can join the cast and crew on Sunday,  September 7 at Bazi Bierbrasserie from 7–10 pm and taste the cocktails straight from Greer’s hands for a night of stiff drinks, food, and a screening of the 1996 film adaptation starring “the truly terrifyingly bad performances of Winona Ryder and the disgusting teeth of Daniel Day-Lewis” to benefit the production.

A CHARM TO KILL GOODY PROCTOR

Act I, Scene I
Abigail Williams is in love and Salem will burn for it. She has seduced John Proctor and wants nothing more than to be his wife. The only thing standing in her way—in her mind at least—is John’s current wife, the saintly Elizabeth Proctor. Abigail tasks Tituba, her uncle’s Barbadian slave, to conjure a blood charm to get Goody Proctor out of the way once and for all.

Betty: You drank blood Abby, you drank blood!
Abigail: Betty you never say that again! You never…
Betty: You did, you did! You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! You drank a charm to kill Goody Proctor!

2 oz gin
.5 oz Green Chartreuse 
.25 oz lemon juice
.25 oz simple syrup
1 egg white

Shake thoroughly and serve up; float Chambord

A HANGIN’ ERROR

Act I, Scene I
With the threat of witchcraft hanging over the village of Salem, the girls responsible for the uproar discuss what will become of them if the truth of what they did in the woods gets out. Weak-willed Mary Warren advocates that the girls come clear to avoid punishment.

Mary Warren: Abby we’ve got to tell! Witchery’s a hangin’ error, like they done in Boston two year ago!

2 oz bourbon
.5 oz Brancamenta
.5 oz Cynar
.5 oz orange juice
3 dashes orange bitters

Shake and strain over fresh ice; garnish with orange zest

GOD’S ICY WIND

Act I, Scene II
Abigail’s plot to remove Goody Proctor moves forward as Ezekiel Cheever appears to arrest her on the false charge of witchcraft. John Proctor vows to come to the court to clear her name, and he is going to use Mary Warren to do it—even if the truth of his affair with Abigail comes to light and costs him his life.

Proctor: Peace! It is a Providence and no great change. We are what we always were, but naked now. Aye, naked. And the wind, God’s icy wind, will blow.

2 oz vodka
.75 oz Absinthe
.75 oz cream
1 barspoon demerara syrup

Shake and serve up

 

 

 

A PROPER LAWYER

Act II, Scene II
In the Salem courthouse, local land baron Thomas Putnam has been accused of killing off his neighbors via accusations of witchcraft in order to take over their land. The outspoken farmer Giles Corey claims Putnam was overheard disclosing this truth to a neighbor, but desperation and tension mount as Corey refuses to name his source.

Corey: This is a hearing, you cannot clap me for contempt of a hearing!
Danforth: Oh it is a proper lawyer! Do you wish me to declare the court in full session here—or will you give me good reply?

2 oz rye whiskey
a light .25 oz Luxardo
a heavy .25 oz blended scotch
5 dashes Scrappy’s Russell’s Reserve bitters

Stir and serve up; flame orange zest and discard

 

THE KEPT POPPET

Act II, Scene II
Mary Warren made Goody Proctor a poppet, with a sinister purpose. Hidden inside is a needle that Abigail uses to charge witchcraft on Elizabeth, claiming she sent out her spirit to stab Abigail in the stomach. John Proctor goes to court to prove the lie, but cannot be heard over the suspicion and superstition of Salem’s Judge Hathorne.

Proctor: Your Honor, my wife never kept no poppets. Mary Warren swears it were her poppet.

2 oz rum
.75 oz lime juice
.5 oz passion fruit puree 
.5 oz simple syrup
3 dashes Tiki Bitters
6 mint leaves + garnish

Clap mint leaves and place in shaker; add liquids, shake, strain, and serve up; garnish with mint