What to Drink After You’re Done Freaking out About the ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 7 Premiere

When it comes to Game of Thrones, no character is safe. In this series, writer and bartender Chris Vola crafts a cocktail and then pours one out for the major deaths in every episode of season 7 of Game of Thrones.

“When people ask you what happened here, tell them, ‘The North remembers.’ Tell them winter came for House Frey.” With those words, expert killer and human skin puppeteer Arya Stark put an abrupt end to one of the most despised—and prodigious—houses of Westeros. For more than 600 years, Walder Frey’s ancestors exploited the strategic location of the bridge separating their twin castles to extract tolls from begrudging lords in need of safe passage over the Green Fork of the River Trident. The family business made the Freys wealthy, but did little to earn the respect of older, nobler houses like the Tulleys, the longtime Lords Paramount of the Riverlands.

The curmudgeonly, unscrupulous Walder spent much of his later years trying to marry off his more than 100 direct descendants, to mostly humiliating results, culminating in King Robb Stark’s reneging on his vow to wed one of the Freys’ most eligible daughters. Instead of accepting Robb’s conciliatory offering of Edmure Tully as a son-in-law, Walder orchestrated the Red Wedding. In doing so, he not only joined the kingslayer club, but also ignored the custom of guest right, whereby anyone who breaks bread with his or her host is immune from harm. Lord Frey openly scoffed at a sacred and ancient custom that had existed in Westeros for thousands of years, until Arya made it impossible for him, and anyone related to him, to scoff—or breathe—ever again.

A 1920s staple at Harry’s Bar in Paris, the Scofflaw was created as a nod to those unfortunate booze-loving souls who had to suffer through Prohibition. It’s a well-balanced blend of whiskey, vermouth, lemon and grenadine. The drink’s hue even calls to mind the poisoned glasses of red wine that the junior Freys downed while toasting Arya-as-Walder (and later expelled when their bodies went into convulsions), a reminder to never invoke the karmic wrath of the gods, or to inspire a girl to become a master assassin by murdering her family. The first sip of the Scofflaw brings with it the invigorating crispness of a fresh start, and its citrusy smooth finish leaves the palate as content as Arya’s expression while exiting the scene of her latest vengeance—a warming sensation signaling that justice has been served.

1 oz rye whiskey
1 oz dry vermouth
.5 oz fresh lemon juice
.75 oz grenadine
2 dashes orange bitters

Combine all ingredients in an ice-filled shaker.
Shake and strain into a stemmed cocktail glass.