Halloween Cocktails

Happy Halloween!

steveboilard7 Comments

Here we are on the 31st day of October, ready to make our 31st Halloween cocktail. What a long strange trip it’s been.

I’m about to settle down on the sofa with my wife (aka Mrs Columbo) and we’re going to watch Hocus Pocus. Neither of us has seen this 30-year-old movie, but we’re told it’s one of the few Halloween movies that both of us could appreciate. Besides, a couple of years ago I visited the location where the movie is set (Salem, Mass.), and it should be fun to see if I can recognize any of the buildings.

One of the actual homes in historic Salem that appear in Hocus Pocus.

But before settling down for the movie, I have one more cocktail to make. I tried to select a final cocktail using some of the lessons I’ve learned this month. To wit:

  • Creamy concoctions seem to beat out the less viscous drinks in terms of taste.
  • The drink’s container helps to set the mood.
  • Gimmicks are good.
  • Avoid Chartreuse at all costs.

Accordingly, I’ve found the following Halloween cocktail that seems to incorporate all those lessons. Here we go!

The Recipe: The “Ghostbuster Cocktail” is made as follows: First, you have to make a little ghost. Whip up some whipped cream (heavy whipping cream and sugar), and put it in a piping bag. Now, pipe out a ghost shape on a silicone mat. Add eyes using black icing, and freeze it in the freezer.

For the drink itself, fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add 2 oz vodka, 1 oz Bailey’s Irish cream, and 1 oz. Kahlua. Shake it up (as Rick Ocasek would say) and pour into a hollowed-out small pumpkin that will serve as a cup. Seat the ghost on the rim of the pumpkin.

The Ratings: The appearance is great–You have a pumpkin and a ghost. What more could you want? This screams Halloween. Four points.

The taste is less exciting. This strongly tastes of Bailey’s. The vodka just adds alcohol without imparting any real taste, and the Kahlua just gives a slight coffee flavor. This is mainly Bailey’s. Which is fine, but it reminds me of St. Pat’s rather than Halloween. The taste gets only 2 points.

The name is kind of fun. People my age (i.e., who were born during the Kennedy Administration) remember Ghost Busters well, as an innovative and fun comedy/horror movie. And the little ghost on the side of the pumpkin echoes that theme. Two points.

Grand Total: 8 points

Now, for those of you who are interested, here’s the scores for all of this month’s drinks:

NameAppearanceTasteNameTotal
Oct 1Pumpkin Martini33.517.5
Oct 2Dark N Stormy2428
Oct 3Haunted Graveyard2327
Oct 4Herman1023
Oct 4Lily21.51.55
Oct 5Corpse Reviver0022
Oct 6Pumpkin Old Fashioned22.515.5
Oct 7Witches Brew0426
Oct 8Absinthe/Green Fairy4228
Oct 9Necromancers Martini22.526.5
Oct 10Halloween Jell-O Shot3.5306.5
Oct 11N/A–Poe Trip
Oct 12Zombie1225
Oct 13Wolf BIte2.53.51.57.5
Oct 14Beetlejuice Cocktail3115
Oct 15Smokey Cauldron43.529.5
Oct 16Vampire Kiss3126
Oct 17Halloween Candy Corn Cocktail1001
Oct 18Pumpkin Spice Mudslide2204
Oct 19Zombie Socketini3328
Oct 20Nightmare on Bourbon St3429
Oct 21Death in the Afternoon21.525.5
Oct 22Headless Horseman3328
Oct 23Black Magic Margarita2.541.58
Oct 24Jack Skellington2.541.58
Oct 25Screwed-up screwdriver3.51.505
Oct 26Green Ghost0022
Oct 27Hell Fire3.5429.5
Oct 28Don Muerte231.56.5
Oct 29Otto’s 192333.506.5
Oct 30Smoke Mirrors and Colors3418
Oct 31Ghostbuster Cocktail4228

As you can see, the #1 drink in terms of appearance was a tie between the Absinthe, the Smokey Cauldron, and the Ghostbuster Cocktail. The #1 drink in terms of taste is a tie between the Dark N Stormy, the Witches Brew, Nightmare on Bourbon Street, Black Magic Margarita, Jack Skellington, Hellfire, and Smoke/Mirrors/Colors. The drink with the highest total score is a tie between the Smokey Cauldron and the Hell Fire.

Thank you to everyone who stuck with me through this experiment, and thanks especially to those who provided feedback or offered their own suggestions. I have something even bigger and better planned for October 2023, so that’s something for you to look forward to (or not). I now turn this blog back over to its primary function as a travelogue.

Any questions?
Halloween Cocktails

Dan is Back!

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This just in:

Yes, Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase are going to be in another movie together. This one will be based on a teen/young adult franchise by R.L Stine, so I don’t expect to be watching it. But Dan Aykroyd is a pretty decent fellow. For starters, he’s Canadian. He’s also the founder of a vodka company called Crystal Head. The notable thing about his vodka is the bottle, which is shaped like a skull. And that’s a good Halloween connection.

It turns out there’s a cocktail called “Smoke, Mirrors and Colors” which shows up on a couple of Halloween cocktail lists. It uses Dan Aykroyd’s Crystal Head vodka. It’s also very easy to make. So here we go!

The Recipe: Combine 1.5 oz Crystal Head Aurora vodka, 1 oz dry vermouth, and 1/2 oz Mezcal in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a glass with dry ice.

The Ratings:

Let’s get this part out of the way: There’s no “color” to this drink. It’s only the container (the skull) that potentially has some iridescence (that doesn’t seem to even be visible in the photo). (This is what’s distinctive about the “Aurora” version of Crystal Head.) That said, the dry ice is a definite plus in that it creates a spooky “smoke.” Otherwise, it’s just a clear drink. Let’s give it three points for appearance.

The taste is distinctive and flavorful. The vermouth lends a tartness which interacts with the smoky Mezcal perfectly. And while the dry ice is obviously there mainly just to create “smoke,” it also carbonates the drink and hyper-cools it. The mouthfeel reminds me of a very cold San Peligrino. The finish is slightly briny, with a nice tang. Overall, this is an approachable, honest, straightforward drink. I can’t think of any part that needs improving. I must give it four points for taste.

The name is a little lame. The smoke part is obvious (either the smoke from the Mezcal, or from the dry ice). The “colors” are presumably from the iridescent bottle (notably NOT from the drink). The mirrors….I have no idea. And I’m not sure how the name connects with Halloween. I suppose there’s something kind of outré about smoke, mirrors, and colors. But the best I can do here is 1 point for the name.

Grand Total: 8 points.

Halloween Cocktails

You Otto Try This One

steveboilard2 Comments

I’ve been resisting the numerous candy-based Halloween cocktails (such as the “Drunken Peanut Butter Cup,” which, while presumably tasty, seem to be more candy drinks than cocktails. However, I’ve decided that I need to include at least one drink of this genre, and today we are making a Butterfinger-based beverage (or BBB, as they say in the trade) (actually, they don’t).

Today’s drink is something called an Otto’s 1923. (The relevance of the name will be discussed in a bit). It’s a premier example of a BBB. So let’s get to it!

The recipe: Combine 1 oz Johnnie Walker Black Label (or another good Scotch), 1/2 oz Kahlua, 1/4 oz Cynar, and a spoonful of peanut butter in a shaker. DO NOT ADD ICE YET; instead, dry shake the contents until the peanut butter mixes well with the other ingredients. Now add ice to the shaker and shake it some more. Stain it into a glass over crushed ice. Garnish with a half-bar worth of Butterfinger crumbles on the top, as well as the remaining half of the candy bar.

The Ratings

It’s quite an attractive looking cocktail. I mean, who doesn’t like to see a Butterfinger stick staring you in the face? The Butterfinger crumbles provide an interesting, inviting garnish on the drink. And the color of the drink itself is peanut butter brown. The link to Halloween is a bit difficult to establish. But if you consider that Butterfingers are a Halloween staple, handed out of millions of kids each year, then maybe there’s a decent nexus. I’ll give the appearance 3 points.

This is a hard cocktail to rate in terms of taste. On the positive side, we have a strong peanut butter flavor, complemented by the smokey, peaty Johnnie Walker and the sweet coffee taste of the Kahlua. The secret ingredient here is the Cynar, which, as you may or may not know, is a high-proof, bitter liqueur made from artichokes. I’m not making this up. The small amount of Cynar nicely contrasts with the sweetness of the other ingredients, and ensures that the cocktail doesn’t become just another candy bomb.

On the other hand, mixing Butterfinger crumbles with the crushed ice seems ill-advised. It’s pretty much impossible to include crumbles in a sip without also swalling a bunch of crushed ice. Maybe that’s the point; maybe this is supposed to drink like a Slurpee. But if so, the ice needs to be blended (not merely crushed). As an experiment, I made another version with just one big ice cube, and this worked much better. As a third experiment, I left out the Butterfinger crumbles, which made the logistics of drinking it easier, and also made it taste more like a “real” cocktail. But it’s hard for me to be an unbiased judge after three drinks…

On balance, though, this is a very enjoyable drink. It’s rich and malty and sweet, and the different tastes (including the Cynar) play out throughout each sip. I give the taste 3.5 points. (It would have been 4 points if it didn’t use crushed ice.)

The name of this drink is a reference to the man (Otto Schnering) who invented the Butterfinger bar in 1923. So the name is a cool reference to that…but it has nothing to do with Halloween! No points.

Grand Total: 6.5 points. (If this weren’t in a Halloween cocktail blog, it would have risen near the top.)

Halloween Cocktails

Don Muerte

steveboilard1 Comment
You feeling lucky, punk?

One of the random Halloween Cocktail lists I’ve been trolling includes something called a Don Muerte. I have all the necessary ingredients, so let’s make one!

The Recipe: Combine 1.5 oz Tequila Don Julio Blanco, 3/4 oz pineapple juice, 3/4 oz lime juice, 1/4 oz agave nectar, and 1/2 tsp activated charcoal in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain over fresh ice. Garnish with an edible flower.

The Ratings: It’s another black cocktail (c/o the activated charcoal), which is definitely in the Halloween vein, but it’s starting to feel a bit tired. Admittedly, it’s dressed up with an “edible flower,” but I’m not sure that makes this drink look any more like a Halloween cocktail. I’ll give it two points for appearance.

The tequila blanco I used came from this skeleton decanter (c/o Azulejo).

This is a very drinkable cocktail. The blanco tequila is more of a cocktail tequila than a sipping tequila. The pineapple and lime juices add a citrus acidity that is balanced between the pineapple sweetness and the lime tartness. The agave nectar nudges the drink in a sweet direction, which is fine with me. Overall, it’s a very balanced, safe, tasty drink. I give it a solid 3 points for taste.

The name is intriguing, though confusing. Muerte means “death” in Spanish, of course. The “Don” is presumably a reference to the Don Julio. But Don Muerte is also a character in a video game called Free Fire (or so I infer from an internet search; I have no firsthand experience with it). I’ll give the name 1.5 out of 2 points, although I don’t totally understand what’s going on.

Grand Total: 6.5 points

Note: Doesn’t Don Muerte remind you of the mummy in Bubba Ho-Tep?

OK, you know you want to watch that movie, don’t you? Here’s the trailer:

Halloween Cocktails

Hot Stuff

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When I was a lad, my brother and I had “comic books,” which I put in quotes because they were always the most off-brand, never-heard-of, outdated, cheap comics that cost less than a quarter an issue. While other kids were reading DC and Marvel comics, or maybe Archie or MAD, my brother and I were stuck with “Little Lulu,” “Dot,” and “Hot Stuff.” This last one was about some benign, cute devil (literally) who was always getting in trouble. And the cover each month had some lame gag about how he used his pitchfork or tail for some mundane, workaday task.

Anyway, I’m thinking about Hot Stuff because today’s drink is something called a Hell Fire. The name reminds me of something called a “Prairie Fire” that I had a few times on dares in college. It involves a healthy shot of 151 and a Tabasco floater.

But the Hell Fire is a little different. Once again, there are a number of drinks on the web that carry this name. but the one I’m making is from a recent issue of Town&Country, and involves (1) homemade grilled peach sherbet [please don’t mispronounce or misspell that word] and (2) real fire. What could go wrong?

The Recipe: Combine 2 oz bourbon, 3/4 oz lemon juice, and 3/4 oz grilled peach sherbet in a shaker. (The sherbet is made by grilling peaches, tossing them in a blender with an equal amount of sugar, and then freezing the concoction.) Strain into a glass, and garnish with fresh mint and ground cinnamon. Light the cinnamon on fire.

I should acknowledge that I had trouble getting the cinnamon to ignite. So, I added a little 151 (from my Prairie Fire days!) to the top, lit that on fire, and sprinkled on cinnamon. It provided a nice, sparkly effect. If anyone has a better suggestion for igniting cinnamon, I’m all ears.

The Ratings: Well, you really can’t beat the appearance. The drink itself is kind of rustic, with a viscous consistency, a seasonable pumpkin hue, and little black bits (seeds? Pieces of char?) swimming around. But the sparkling flames seem the ideal adornment for a Halloween drink. This deserves the full 4 points for appearance…but I’m only giving it 3.5 points, because the cinnamon wouldn’t light without the assistance of 151.

The taste is de-lic-ious! Admittedly, part of the reason is because I added 1/3 cup of sugar to the sherbet. But I only used a small amount of the total sherbet, so one drink probably only has a tablespoon or two of sugar. The grilled peaches are absolutely delectable–rich and flavorful and fruity. The bourbon lends the usual gravitas, with oak and spice and brown sugar. The lemon slightly attenuates all that sweetness. And as I mentioned earlier, the mouthfeel is full and rich, like a Jamba Juice. Four points for taste.

Hell Fire is a controversial choice for a name. It might be a little ungodly for some. But it definitely connects with the fire element that distinguishes the cocktail’s appearance. And Hell conjures up (hopefully not literally) devils, demons, death, and various other Halloween-esque elements. I feel obligated to give the name the full 2 points.

Grand Total: 9.5. I recommend you make yourself one of these drinks!Just consider using 151 instead of Maker’s bourbon.