Hello there, thirsty friends. And welcome to the first of many in the weekly Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game!

Obviously, I’m excited. How could you not be excited, when combining two things you really have a passion for? I knew my interest in both drinking and Sherlock Holmes would pay off eventually.

So let’s get started, shall we? First off, my original Blue Carbuncle cocktail recipe. Please make this before sitting down to your annual holiday reading of “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.” As a disclaimer– I’m definitely not Martha Stewart here, so when I mix and create, I’m more of a “close-enough” person, so I just eyeball everything. If this is too much for you and your scientific brain, please feel free to pull out the shot glass/test tube/whatever you use and measure everything precisely and to your taste. Most important for this cocktail, besides being thematically correct, is the taste. I hope you enjoy!

The Blue Carbuncle cocktail

In a highball glass or similar short glass, pour the following:

2 parts Grey Goose vodka (we’ve got to have that Grey Goose!)

1 part simple syrup

1 splash of lemon juice

a drop (or two) of blue curacao (a little goes a long way)

Stir slightly

Add one of the largest icecubes you can find (this is your carbuncle!) and voila! The Blue Carbuncle cocktail is done.

Now we turn our attention towards this wintery tale. Packed with cold weather and holiday highjinks, I’ve always loved “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.” I re-read it every Christmas and also watch the Jeremy Brett version, but this year’s version has been enhanced with this cocktail creation. If you missed the Sherlock Holmes Drinking Game rules, check them out here:

Grand total of drinks taken while re-reading “The Blue Carbuncle”: 5

Of course we take one drink for Holmes telling Watson he “sees” but he does not observe all the clues within the battered felt hat.

One drink is taken for Holmes surprising Watson with ingenious deductions; “You have an answer to everything. But how on earth do you deduce that the gas is not laid on in his house?”

One drink is taken when Peterson rushes in the 221B.

One drink is taken when Holmes, Watson, and the perpetrator jump into a cab to head back to Baker Street- but only one. Holmes and Watson walk most of the way around London for this story.

And finally one drink is taken when Holmes allows Ryder to go free. Although, almost in the same breath, Holmes claims he is “not retained by the police to supply their deficiencies,” so go ahead and finish that cocktail, because Holmes deriding the police is worth one sip.

Finished? Great. Join me next week as I tackle another tale, complete with an original cocktail recipe. Cheers!