In nineteen-hundred and eighty-two Tim Burton wrote a poem.

About a guy obsessed with Halloween.

Then ten years later Tim received the green light from Touchstone

“The Nightmare Before Christmas” could be seen!

OK, it admittedly needs a little work. But whenever I encounter anything related to The Nightmare Before Christmas, the movie’s opening song (Danny Elfman’s “This is Halloween”) runs through my mind. And I’m always struck by how the song both sticks in your head and monumentally sucks. I mean, the “music” is practically a monotonal C-major meditation. And the lyrics are full of forced rhymes: “age” and “strange”; “see” and “Halloween”; “scream” and “Halloween”; “home” and “song.” Anyway, my point isn’t to dump on Danny Elfman, but rather to explain why I find myself writing doggerel.

The reason I brought up The Nightmare Before Christmas is because today’s drink is something called the Jack Skellington. You’ll recall that Jack Skellington is the “King of Halloweentown” in the movie.

Now, I should note that there are a number of very different cocktails called a “Jack Skellington” rattling around on the Internet. But the one I chose comes from a cocktail bar in Melbourne, Australia. It contains both vodka and Scotch, which sounds a little odd to me, but also sounds intriguing. Let’s make one!

The Recipe: In a cocktail shaker with ice mix 30 ml vanilla vodka, 10 ml Johnnie Walker, 20 ml Antica, 20 ml Little Drippa, and 15 ml pumpkin spiced syrup. (These Australians have evidently never heard of the English measurement system. For those not conversant with antipodal measurements, let me translate: 1 oz vodka, 2 tsp Scotch, 2/3 oz sweet vermouth, 2/3 oz cold extracted coffee, and 1/2 oz pumpkin spiced syrup.) Then garnish with whipped cream and toffee.

The Ratings: The appearance of this drink is moderately attractive. Yes, it looks like espresso with cream. The coffee/Scotch/vermouth color approximates that of a good porter. But I really don’t see how this resembles “Jack Skellington.” I’ll give it 2.5 points. And that’s just because I’m feeling generous.

Turning to the taste: O.M.G.! This is delicioso (as we Iberian people like to say). The coffee (Little Drippa) and the Scotch (Johnnie Walker) interact beautifully, pumping up their smoky, earthy flavors. Those peaty notes are perfectly balanced by the sweetness of the pumpkin spice syrup and sweet vermouth. The whipped cream and toffee might be inclined to tip the whole thing towards saccharin, but that’s where the vodka comes to the rescue, centering the whole drink as a high-alcohol, peaty, creamy drink reminiscent of something a wise teenager would order at Starbucks.

I should note that this drink reminds me of a Laphroaig espresso martini, which, in my opinion, is the single best cocktail in the world. But whereas the Laphroaig drink is sweetened by simple syrup, the Jack Skellington has a mix of pumpkin spice syrup, whipped cream, and sweet vermouth. The overall effect is complex, balanced, and pungent. I wouldn’t drink it every day, but it sure is a fun drink for a change of pace. I simply must give this cocktail the full 4 points for taste.

The name is definitely Halloween-related, but it’s not really connected to the drink at all. One wonders why this particular name was chosen. The best I can offer here is 1.5 points.

Grand Total: 8 points.