For Game Of Thrones fans, there’s an answer to the question of what Joffrey Baratheon might have drunk as he sat on the Iron Throne—or at the dinner table.

Brewery Ommegang and HBO, producer of the hit series, are partnering on a series of beers inspired by the drama. After much collaboration, they launched the first Iron Throne beer, a blonde ale, in tandem with the third season.

While Joffrey is a teen, everyone, including young children, drank beer until modern times. Before reliable municipal water supplies, water from available sources—wells, lakes and rivers—harbored disease-causing microbes. Because the water is boiled during brewing, the microbes were destroyed, making beer the safe choice.

We haven’t been able track down a bottle of Game Of Thrones beer: The store locator on the website only tells you what retailers carry any beers from Brewery Ommegang. Your best bet may be to email or call the brewery: info@ommegang.com, 800.544.1809.

Brush up on the different types of beers in our Beer Glossary.
 
 
*The line is not distributed in Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota,West Virginia and Wyoming.

Thinking ahead to Cinco de Mayo? Bring something hot to the party—a bottle of Stoli Hot vodka, with jalapeño flavor and a hint of chipotle smoke. You can also make your own (recipe below).

Introduced last year as a new flavor, Stoli Hot is a reformulated version of the 1962 flavor, Pepper (Pertsovka). Another 1962 flavor, Honey and Herb (Okhotnichya), is now called Stoli Sticki. They were the brand’s first flavored vodkas, and the freshening up of the concepts was a 50th-anniversary celebration.

Stoli Hot mixes well with lime juice, mango nectar, orange juice, and pineapple juice. We loved it in a frozen mango Margarita, the flavors echoing our favorite flavor of paleta (Mexican ice pop), mango chili lime.

The distiller has developed Stoli Hot cocktail recipes, including, among others:

 
There are plenty of ways to have a hot time on Cinco de Mayo!

You can infuse your own vodka with jalapeños, and can also play around with a touch of chipotle or liquid smoke flavor. Home-infused vodka will have a different flavor from Stolichnaya’s since commercial vodkas are flavored with extracts instead of infused with fresh fruit.

Just because you’ll be infusing jalapeños doesn’t mean you can buy the cheapest vodka on the shelf: The impurities will still be apparent. Of course, you don’t have to infuse the most expensive vodka, either, unless you want to.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. REMOVE stems from jalapeños and cut into quarters lengthwise. Add to the vodka bottle.

2. STEEP in a cool, dark place for one week; then taste. If you’d like a hotter flavor, continue steeping and check weekly.

3. REMOVE the jalapeños. You can keep them in the bottle for a picturesque touch, and they will continue to add flavor for a few months until their flavors are thoroughly incorporated.

TIP: It’s not easy to remove the fruit from the bottle. Instead, keep an empty vodka bottle around for making infused vodka. Transfer the vodka you’re infusing into that bottle and add the fruit. Then, when your infusion is complete, decant the flavored vodka into the original bottle.
 
 
> Find more of our favorite spirits and cocktails using the pull-down menu in the right column.
 
 

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It’s easy to make your own barbecue sauce. Photo by Eddie Berman | IST.

If you want a balsamic vinaigrette, mix two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar with three tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt. It’s that simple: You don’t have to spend $5.00 on a bottle of salad dressing.

If you want barbecue chicken, mix up ketchup, chili powder, garlic powder, mustard, onion powder, paprika, salt, sugar and any other favorite spices (allspice, chipotle, cinnamon, thyme, mace). It’s that simple; you don’t have to spend $5.00 on a bottle of barbecue sauce.

Here’s the easy recipe from LearntoCook.com, a website dedicated to teaching families the basics of cooking.

When you make your own barbecue sauce, you avoid ingredients like added high fructose corn syrup and extra salt. To avoid all HFCS, buy an organic ketchup or a natural ketchup like Muir Glen; the big brands tend to be loaded with HFCS. See our review of the best ketchup brands.

BARBECUE CHICKEN RECIPE

Ingredients For 2 Servings

1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F.

2. RINSE chicken parts and trim any excess fat. Pat dry with a paper towel.

3. COAT each piece with the BBQ seasoning mix and reserve.

4. HEAT the olive oil in a skillet or sauté pan until a medium to high heat is reached. Sear chicken on all sides for even browning. Reserve in a baking pan.

5. Sweat the onions and garlic, using a little of the oil in the sauté pan.

6. ADD the ketchup, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and cayenne to the sauté pan. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

7. LADLE the liquid mixture over the chicken, making sure to coat each piece.

Serve with potato salad, fresh carrots and celery sticks.

BARBECUE SEASONING MIX RECIPE

Preparation

1. COMINE all ingredients thoroughly.

2. STORE in jar with tight fitting lid.