3 Cocktails for the Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes poster — Hunger Games poster © 2023 Lionsgate

Opening November 17, 2023, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the prequel to the blockbuster Hunger Games trilogy starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. (Don’t expect to see Lawrence on-screen this time though. In this storyline, she hasn’t been born yet. However, you will see Peter Dinklage as Dean Highbottom and Viola Davis as the cruel and calculating Dr. Gaul.) Based on the novel by the same name from Suzanne Collins, the new movie offers insight into how Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth)–a broke kid from an elite Capitol family–becomes President Snow, ruthless dictator of Panem.

What Happens in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes?

In The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Snow is a young man, university-bound, when he is selected as a mentor for the year’s female Hunger Games tribute from District 12. The match is not a compliment to the Snows. Living conditions get worse with each subsequent district, and District 13 has been all but obliterated, leaving 12 at the bottom.

In Snow’s reality, the Hunger Games serve as a reminder and a threat: a consequence of a recent civil war, the Games punish the losing side and keep burgeoning rebels in line. The impoverished districts deliver two young tributes to the Capitol each year. The kids then compete in a televised battle to the death. Without fanfare, the lone victor returns to their district of origin.

Over time, Capitol leaders manipulate the public into emotionally and financially investing in the Games’ outcome. Coriolanus Snow plays an integral role in this aspect of the ritual’s evolution, even as he falls for his mentee, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler). Young and untrained in combat, Lucy Gray is a traveling folk musician and snake charmer with more than a few tricks up her sleeve. Does she have what it takes not only to survive, but to win?

Themed Cocktails

To enhance your enjoyment of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, try your hand at these three delicious cocktail recipes, designed to complement the story and celebrate the characters. And may the odds be ever in your favor.

Snow Lands on Top

Snow Lands on Top is named for the Snow family motto. The base of this cocktail is Malibu rum, which is sweet and indulgent, though not the fanciest of liquors. The Snows lost their wealth to the war, if not their standing. The coconut rum is dressed up in rose, the signature flower and scent of the Snow clan. No matter how little the Snows have in their cupboards, they always have their roses. Rose adds a perfumey touch of class, complemented by the sharpness of the lemon. The Vita Coco pressed coconut water orbs are frozen, like hard hearts, or hard-packed snow, keeping the drink fresh even as they melt.

Vita Coco pressed coconut water ice spheres

1.5 oz Malibu rum

1 oz rose syrup (see recipe)

0.5 oz lemon juice

Rosebud garnish (optional)

Freeze about a cup of coconut water in spherical ice molds, or in the shape of your choosing. While the spheres freeze, prepare the syrup and let cool. Once all ingredients are ready, add the rum, syrup, and lemon juice to a shaker with ice. Agitate vigorously for about 30 seconds. Strain into a punch glass and add the coconut orbs. Top with a rosebud if desired.

Rose Syrup

1 c water

1 c sugar

1/4 c dried organic rose petals

Mix all ingredients together in a small pot, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain and discard solids. Store the syrup in a glass bottle or jar. Keep refrigerated.

The Songbird of District 12

Songbird of District 12 cocktail — Songbird of District 12

The Songbird of District 12 is named after Lucy Gray Baird, the singer-songwriter tribute from the coal-mining district, the future home of Katniss Everdeen. It’s made with smoky Oliver Puff & Co Lapsang Souchong tea that tastes like a sultry voice sounds, the perfect remedy to clear the pipes, as Lucy Gray would say. Two James Grass Widow whiskey (from a Michigan distillery) is for all the families lost to one another amidst the ongoing civil unrest in Panem. The Republic of Tea Dandelion tea transforms into dandelion vanilla syrup, adding a smooth, earthy sweetness. Dandelions are hearty and readily available, setting down roots wherever they choose; like Lucy Gray, they have a “knack” for survival. All the Bitter nonalcoholic lavender bitters (full disclosure: Pick Your Potions is an affiliate of All the Bitter) add a hint of fragrance, for the soap Snow’s cousin Tigris (Hunter Schafer) shares with Lucy Gray in the novel. The lemon twist offers a bright touch of color, like Lucy Gray’s costume against a bleak landscape, plus a complementary scent.

2.5 oz Oliver Puff & Co Lapsang Souchong tea, steeped with a strip of lemon

1.5 oz Two James Grass Widow whiskey

0.5 oz dandelion vanilla syrup (see recipe)

Several dashes All the Bitter lavender bitters, or the lavender bitters of your choosing

Lemon twist

Prepare the syrup. Meanwhile, brew a cup of the Lapsang Souchong tea. Add a strip of lemon peel and let steep until cool. Once the syrup is ready, add it to a mixing glass filled halfway with ice, along with the whiskey, cooled tea, and bitters. Stir until well-chilled. Strain into a large rocks glass with ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Dandelion Vanilla Syrup

1 c sugar

1 c water

2 The Republic of Tea Dandelion SuperHerb tea bags

Instructions

Mix the sugar and water in a small pot, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat and add the tea bags to the warm syrup. Let steep until cool. Discard the tea bags. Store the syrup in a glass bottle or jar. Keep refrigerated.

Capitol Cake

As a Capitol kid from an old family, Snow has to hide his hunger, even as he dines among the crème de la crème at state-provided luncheons, where he particularly relishes the pastry. Capitol Cake is thus designed to evoke the capitol’s palette, with gin (from Ugly Dog, another Michigan distillery), a little luxurious heavy cream, and jasmine syrup, made with Numi loose leaf organic jasmine tea. When things are particularly bad, or when someone especially important comes to visit, kind Tigris rations out some fragrant jasmine. A lemon twist adds a lovely, bright note of citrus.

1.5 oz Ugly Dog gin

1.5 oz jasmine syrup (see recipe)

0.5 oz heavy cream (for a non-dairy substitute, try almond, cashew, oat, or coconut milk)

Lemon twist (optional)

Prepare the syrup. Once cool, add to a shaker with ice, along with the cream and gin. Agitate vigorously for about 30 seconds, or until frothy. Strain into a stemmed glass. Garnish with a lemon twist if desired.

Jasmine Syrup

1 c water

1 c sugar

1/4 c Numi loose leaf organic jasmine green tea

Mix all ingredients together in a small pot, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain and discard solids. Store the syrup in a glass bottle or jar. Keep refrigerated.