This month Drink Your Comics is all about the noir – a popular genre, especially to comic books. Our writers share cocktails inspired by their favorite noir comics.

Dark Shadow by Romona Williams

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows, and drinks this to forget it.

Ingredients

• 2 shots of Red Stripe beer
• 1.5 shots of red wine

Directions

Pour over ice in a snifter.

Dark & Stormy by Lela Gwen

What’s more Noir than a Dark & Stormy night?

Ingredients

• 2 ounces rum — dark rum
• 3 ounces ginger beer
• 1/2 ounce lime juice

Directions

Combine in a collins glass.

The Foggy Bear by Megan Byrd

Femme fatales, vigilantes struggling to resist the corruption they fight, and a place called Hell’s Kitchen – Daredevil’s home is where noir lives in the Marvel Universe. Being friends with a superhero who is often at odds with the law would be enough to drive anyone to drink, and Foggy Nelson deserves more than a few. Like the loveable lawyer, this drink is sweet and easily underestimated. Go easy on this one or your night indeed will be foggy!

Ingredients

• 1 shot of vodka
• ½ a bottle of Crabbie’s Cloudy Alcoholic Lemonade
• A splash of raspberry lemonade

Directions

Pour ingredients over ice and gently stir. Garnish with slice of lime and sprig of mint.

Swamptown by Al Rosenberg

This is inspired by Heathentown by Corinna Sara Bechko and Gabriel Hardman, a sort of neo-noir, fantasy tale based in the swamps near my hometown in Florida. I love the dark, dripping atmosphere depicted in Heathentown; pair it with this sweet and sour cocktail for a full noir experience.

Ingredients

• 1 oz lime vodka
• 1 oz apricot brandy
• 2 – 4 oz whisky sour mix
• 2 – 4 oz lemon-lime soda
• A dash of grenadine

Directions

Add ice to a 12oz cup, add vodka and brandy. Add equal parts of sour mix and soda. Spill grenadine on top like the blood of your sacrifice.

The Big Bad by Sarah Richardson/Princess Wolfypants

The smoky taste of a sazerac made with scotch is inspired by Bigby Wolf’s noir-ish detective in the Fables mini-series, The Wolf Among Us. It touched on a dirtier, grimmer side of fairy tale life, and this is just the sort of drink to help you try to forget the things you’ve seen…and done.

Ingredients

• 2 oz scotch whisky
• 1 teaspoon red absinthe
• 3 dashes of Peychaud’s bitters
• lemon peel

Directions

Pour absinthe in glass and splash it around to coat the glass. Drink (why the hell would you pour out perfectly good absinthe?). Add scotch and bitters. Twist lemon peel over glass, then rub around rim. Either discard or drop in glass.