Dark Midnight

Throwback Thursday Presents:
A Themed Drink for The Dimension Door Podcast, Episode 14

I'm breaking my unscheduled hiatus (life got the better of me the past month!) to revisit my first episode-themed drink for The Dimension Door Podcast. "Dark Midnight" is both the title of Episode 14 and a moniker for the significant NPC which is featured in the episode: Baba Yaga's Black Rider.

For a bit of a Black Rider lore drop & full instructions to make the Dark Midnight cocktail, keep reading below.

Baba Yaga's Black Rider: Dark Midnight

Image Credit: Ivan Bilibin, illustration for Vasilisa the Beautiful

"Dark Midnight rides when the light is gone..."

Baba Yaga's Black Rider (Image Credit: Paizo Publishing)

Baba Yaga, the Mother of All Witches, both traditionally and within the lore of the Pathfinder universe, has three loyal riders: the White Rider, the Red Rider, and the Black Rider. In the particular case of Pathfinder, Baba Yaga's riders prepare her wintery kingdom of Irrisen for her return once every hundred years.

In Episode 14 of The Dimension Door, the party of heroes from Heldren have fought their way through to a magical portal, ringed in towering shards of ice, through which an unseasonable, magical winter is invading their home. At that portal, mortally wounded by an ice spear, they find the Black Rider himself.

I won't delve into spoilers for the podcast beyond that, but I will share all the details you'll need to make a dark, icy cocktail inspired by Baba Yaga's Dark Midnight himself.

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How to make your own Dark Midnight

To a cocktail shaker, add:

• 2 oz Kraken dark roast coffee rum
• 3/4 oz cinnamon syrup
• 1/4 oz oleo-saccharum
• 1 oz lime juice

Shake well with ice, strain into chilled rocks glass. Spear your Dark Midnight with large shards of ice & serve in honor of Baba Yaga.

​I made my ice shards by freezing water on a metal baking sheet with a raised edge, then breaking the sheet of ice into pieces.

Both cinnamon syrup & oleo-saccharum are pretty simple to make yourself. I haven't covered my recipes yet here, but there are many easy-to-follow recipes online elsewhere. If you have any questions or need help finding a good recipe for these ingredients, let me know in the comments!