A Rough Draught Of A Topic

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Birdland

An also, remember that Frodo became much more of a pacifist after his adventure, even declining to wear a weapon anymore. Not the effect you would want Orc Draught to have.

I do not think a swig of Orc Draught would have such long-lasting effects. Particularly in Frodo's case, given all that he went through, the Orc-draught was among the smallest of the evils and would have very little effect on him in comparison.

The idea of becoming orc-like is an interesting one, but I can only see it happen from prolonged use. Are orcs just drug addicts?

I agree most with the spiritual vs physical theme. But the most interesting thing about it as a drug is the quickness with which it comes into effect. It clearly messes with the nervous system (which is what caffeine does too), and it takes time for substances to be absorbed and transported to the brain, or the tissues where it can act on peripheral nerves. But the effect is almost immediate. I know I'm mixing Tolkien and science again, which never ends well for me, but speculating on real-world mechanisms doesn't bother my peaceful imagination that allows it to be a trick of orc-magic. Lembas is different, because as we know eating something, particularly something tasty and sweet, feels very good even without any magical properties. That alone can be enough to lift spirits - though, of course, lembas does way more than that.

Originally Posted by Snowdog

A theoretical Orc Draught....

1 oz sambuca
1 oz sweet vermouth
1½ oz absinthe
1oz strong black coffee

I'd say alcohol mixed with quinine and orc-magic... Though strong coffee also wouldn't be out of place.