The Hexer’s ninth chapter just may be its most eventful one yet. Renfri returns! Geralt confronts Falwick! Ciri makes her (somewhat anticlimactic) debut! It’s an episode that’s, frankly, overloaded with important moments, and so we’ve paired it with an equally overloaded spirit—the 125-proof White Dog Mash #1 by Buffalo Trace Distillery. There’s no doubt the raw, unaged White Dog is powerful stuff, but is it actually whiskey? That proves to be a matter for debate, as does whether or not we like Hexer’s take on Ciri, if Nenneke should just stop screwing around and jump Geralt’s bones already and what the heck the Temple of Melitele’s vision-seeing Iola is doing for most of the episode.

While we wait for more news on the Witcher show and games, we got an update on something we really didn’t expect: new books! Okay, we got a brief, off-the-cuff statement on them that was all of five words long. But those five words—“They are in the plans”—came from none other than Andrzej Sapkowski, which means they’re more than enough for us to devote an entire episode to! We speculate on what those plans could be based on things Sapkowski has said in the past, then share our thoughts on what we’d most like to see in any future Witcher books. Plus, Valerie calls our very first side quest segment of surprise...and it couldn’t be more appropriate.

It may be Cupid’s big week, but we’re the ones playing matchmaker in this special Valentine’s Day episode. First, we discuss our all-time favorite Witcher ships, both canon and fanon. You know, the ones we may or may not be secretly writing sexy fanfic about. (Let’s just say Geraskier is SO season one.) But things really heat up in our second segment as we take turns picking Witcher characters at random and making the case for why they should smash. So, light some candles, pour some wine and definitely put the kids to bed as we celebrate love, romance and the power of a stupidly sexy hookup Witcher-style!

It’s time to break out the nice glasses as we welcome our first guest of 2023! For years, Joanna Estep has successfully balanced a career drawing, coloring and lettering comics with a love of fanart and The Witcher, recently culminating in her self-published Geraskier minicomic, “Where Are You This Moment?” In this bonus episode, we talk to Jo about her art, her fandom, her love of messy women and why sometimes what seems naughty on the surface is really just about making Geralt smile.

Follow Jo on Twitter at @joannaestep and Instagram at @joanna_estep_draws. You can purchase her Witcher minicomic at https://joannaestep.storenvy.com/

We suspected—well, Tim did at any rate—that with its limited production budget, The Hexer wouldn’t attempt to bring Geralt’s iconic fight with the fearsome striga to screen. Shows what he knows because that classic short story forms the basis of the series’ eighth episode, which we’ve paired with Compass Box’s uniquely fruit-forward scotch blend Orchard House. Sadly, no amount of whiskey can make a rubber suit look frightening, but it might be responsible for Geralt’s sudden penchant for older women wearing nun smocks and for random characters mating with people’s brothers. Also, we've gotten another review, and you know what that means, right? (Shots. It means shots.)

For our first Hexer episode of 2023, we thought we’d put aside our usual drunken nonsense for a serious discussion of dopplers and elven displacement…but who are we kidding? It takes all of ten minutes for Tim and Producer Sean to devolve into juvenile jokes about the name “Dudu” and it’s all downhill from there. We do manage to discuss whether the episode’s adaptation of “The Edge of the World” is more effective than Netflix’s, riff quite a bit on The Bangles’ 1988 hit “Eternal Flame” and find a lot to like about the Stillhouse Black Bourbon we pair with the episode, even if we largely agree that canned whiskey is…well, you can probably guess.

Who needs a sword when you’re wearing an outfit that absolutely slays? In our first new episode of 2023, we’re focusing on the fashion of The Witcher’s first two seasons, as we toast some of the hottest looks to hit the runways of Novigrad. Tim and Valerie each rank their five favorite costumes, discussing what they say about the characters and sharing their only slightly tipsy thoughts on why they work so well. But it’s not all! We also pick our absolute least favorites because, let’s face it, the Continent is not without its fashion fails.

Whiskey With Witcher is now a year old! Somehow we’ve managed to keep this thing going for a full trip around the sun, so to celebrate, we’re uncorking a bottle from Tim’s private stash—Harp Song, a 16-year Irish single malt—and answering questions about ourselves asked by you, our listeners! We share some of our more deeply held thoughts on The Witcher and where we see it going, weigh in on the most recent trailer for Blood Origin, and lift the veil a bit more on who we are outside of the podcast (can you guess which one of us once walked an alpaca in a parade?). Tim also talks about putting Muppets in tights and getting paid for it, while Valerie enlightens her partner on the sexy-but-sadly-named fandom that is SuperWhoLock. It’s an alcohol-infused anniversary party and you’re all invited. Yes, even you, McBubby.

The Law of Surprise has been called in Cintra...and on our podcast! But don’t worry, the only thing we’re rewarded with is an unexpected bottle of Gentleman Jack, which we drink a bit too generously as we unpack The Hexer’s sixth episode, “Calanthe.” We also weigh in on the latest Blood Origin trailer, speculating about what awaits us in the upcoming spinoff and predicting which characters are going to steal the show (Meldof, definitely Meldof). And speaking of predictions, we make a deliciously dirty one about what we’d like to see in episode seven. What can we say? Our whiskey may be a gentleman...but we never claimed to be.

Bundle up, Witcher fans! This week, we’re unpacking The Hexer’s fifth episode, which finds Geralt, Yennefer and Istredd in a toxic love triangle that doesn’t end the way any of us would like. An adaptation of the short story “A Shard of Ice,” it’s a talky tour of truth and emotion that we’ve paired with a bottle of Jameson Cold Brew, a whiskey that also contains cold brew coffee. Will adding caffeine to our already adult mix of alcohol and sass add some liveliness to the chat? Or will we end up manically running around the room screaming about our feelings, much like Geralt and Yennefer? You’re about to find out! And hey, we also talk about Geralt’s butt for a little bit, if that helps.