"Sapphire Star - The object you got after not really defeating Cortez."

"Sweet Feast - 5 SP - Restores Mario and his ally's HP and FP, and cures poison."

Inspiration

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door has two star abilities that allow Mario to play the healer for himself and his allies: Sweet Treat and Sweet Feast. The feast is, naturally, a souped-up version of the treat. There's a technique that I had been inching to put into action involving clarification, and the thought of something sweet took me back to a shocking realization I had after a Starbucks visit one time...

Workshopping

Okay, first let me tackle that foreshadowing statement I made above about Starbucks.

Blue Coffee?

A sweet feast, and even sweeter cream. The sweet cream coffee beverages that I first tried at everyone's favorite over-priced coffee giant stuck out like a sore thumb in terms of cocktail ideas. Long story short, I tried really hard to combine fresh-brewed coffee with a variety of blue ingredients to see if I could create a liquid that was clear, blue, and tasted prominently of coffee. 

So far, I've failed. I did make strides on a combination that beautifully combines the flavor of tropical fruits and coffee beans together! This combo has since been deposited into the flavor bank (in my brain) and if I ever figure out a way to use it. You'll be hearing from me!

*Clarified Cola

Well I couldn't figure out how to make a clear blue coffee, but I already know how to make a clear blue cola! The technique involves taking a proportion of your cola and combining it with some milk product.

1. Combine 4 parts cola (Coca-Cola) to 1 part milk product (Heavy Cream)

2. Allow the mixture to curdle (stir to combine if necessary)

3. Pour some of the mixture through a coffee filter and let strain shortly into a spare container (you'll need 2!)

4. When the strained liquid begins to drip out clear (it will be cloudy at first), take your filter and place it over your second container. Take the cloudy liquid from the first container and pour it back over your filter. 

5. Allow to completely filter through (I left mine overnight in the fridge), and bottle up!

Clarified cola has a flavor that is similar to it's un-clarified, and raw counterpart, but it is less intense. Think of the flavor as being watered down a bit with a smoother texture and more prominent notes of vanilla. The resulting mixture is essentially a syrup, since the clarification process tends to de-carbonate the soda.

**Blue Curaçao Cream

The miracle of density allows us to float a whipped cream on top of our liquid libations (just like the sweet cream cold brews at Starbucks). And I bet you didn't realize that you can make your own more easily and significantly cheaper than at the mass-produced barista barn (no shade to the baristas at Starbucks, just the mega-corp that pays you)

You can make literally any flavored cream (so long as your flavoring agent doesn't react with the cream, like lemon juice or other acids).  I made our curaçao cream using the following recipe:

• 1 oz (30 ml) Heavy Cream

• 1/2 oz (15 ml) Blue Curaçao

• 1 tsp (5 g) Sugar

• Whip until you see ridges.

The Cocktail

What I went for here was a drink that was refreshing enough to heal your HP and sweet enough to replenish your FP. I've already established that this was vaguely inspired by the sweet cream cold brew drinks that you can buy from almost every major coffee chain now. But instead of coffee, this cream is going on top of soda!

The rum & coke is a Cuba Libre cocktail minus the lime juice. So what if we deconstructed the ingredients of a Cuba Libre and make it blue (and sweeter)? The Cuba Libre cocktail itself is indeed a reference to the history of Cuba. I felt a connection between the tropical locale of Keelhaul Key in the video game (with its tropical fruits and distinct lack of Keelhaul Key Limes, shame) and Cuba. There also was the spectral boss of the area, Cortez, who struck me as the conquistador type who may or may not have conquered the area of Keelhaul (who knows really?)

Essentially we've decarbonated the cola with a milk-clarification technique. Then added back the carbonation with seltzer water. The lime juice was preserved in the recipe and the rum was doubled. The coconut rum inclusion was meant to complement the orange flavor that gets re-introduced with blue curaçao. Top everything off with the custom sweet cream, and you've got yourself a beverage that's sweet in every sip (from the rim for a direct hit, and from a straw for a bit more character!)

Flavor Analysis

Sipped from the bottom, the Sweet Feast is refreshingly lime and coconut-forward. The seltzer-y popping complemented the extra boozy kick from the rum, giving it a pointed tartness. Sipped from the rim, the sweet cream is rich and decadent with a slight note of orange thanks to the inclusion of the curaçao. If you can take a deep enough sip to taste both layers at once, you won't be disappointed.

Star Garnish

Although you can't see it in the picture, a star-cut and blue-candied apple slice is floating on the surface of the drink. The density of the sweet cream allows most garnishes to sit right up on top!