Potion Miscibility: Ouzo!

July 27th, 2007

In a far-future science-fiction roleplaying game (it was basically the Traveller universe), I played a Greek starship captain named Sophia Soulis. Unscrupulous doctors had genetically enhanced her to be able to move with blinding speed, but they hadn’t worried about the serious metabolic disadvantages that would result. Sophia was plauged by occasional bouts of epilepsy, a massively increased need for food, and strong dependence on an illegal drug. (Yes, her set of abilities was inspired by Miles Teg from Frank Herbert’s Chapterhouse Dune.)

She drank—often and heavily—as one of the few escapes from the discomforts of her physical disadvantages and the need to keep her illegal genetic modifications hidden. Loyal to the long-dead civilization of her ancestors, the Greeks, influenced her choice of potables. She opted for the strongly anise-flavored ouzo.

I don’t like anise. And I’ve never tasted anything with a stronger anise flavor than ouzo. Inspired by the (apocryphal?) story of method actor Dustin Hoffman insisting on eating garlic soup while he starred in Death of a Salesman simply because that’s what his character would do, I brought along a bottle of the stuff to each session and tippled while we trawled the stars looking for work while avoiding the galactic authorities.

Many countries have a national anise-flavored drink (Sambuca, pastis, raki, anisette, and so on). This Greek variety is very sweet without becoming syrupy. As I said, I’m no fan of anise, but I actually do like ouzo from time to time. (My wife hates olives but love olive tapenade, which tastes more like olives than olives themselves. Perhaps this is a parallel case.)

I’ve never been to an ouzerie (nor to Greece, for that matter), but I can recommend that ouzo is best enjoyed cold, with a small glass lasting a long time.

And I can certainly recommend bringing a character-appropriate snack or drink to the gaming table (with enough to share for those who are interested, of course). For instance, I knew a guy who brought pickled herring in sour cream to any session in which he played his Viking character. This Scandinavian delicacy repulses most people who hear about it (though I loved before I became a vegetarian) energized the roleplaying. The other characters were from more “civilized” parts of the game world, and the rising smell of vinegar-preserved ocean fish and thick sour cream added greatly to their disdained reactions to this northern barbarian.

Next time I play, I think I’ll create a character who enjoys outrageously expensive single-malt scotch!

Entry Filed under: Potion Miscibility, Food and Drink, Roleplaying, Character, RPG