It’s time once again to Ask FMMS about our favourite themed cocktails! This time we’re going spooky for good old Hallow’s Eve. Between the five of these, you’ll find some things that are easy to make and some that require a bit more effort, but every one of them is tasty and perfect for a crisp Fall Halloween night, whether you’re at a party or stuck handing out candy.
Here’s what everyone chose:
Satan’s Whiskers
White Lady
Sleepy Hollow Fizz
Negroni
Black Martinis
Satan’s Whiskers
By Mano Kardaras
The name of this cocktail is terrifying, so I thought it would be appropriate for our list. In addition to its name, the bright orange colour really gives it a Halloween feel.
The Satan’s Whiskers has been around since the 1930’s, so it’s actually a firmly established drink. Although the name suggests it’s more of a themed cocktail, this guy’s good all-year ‘round. It’s a sweet drink with a nice kick of orange flavour that is especially appropriate during the hot summer months. The addition of both sweet and dry vermouth keeps the orange from becoming too overpowering.
This cocktail has a lot of flavour. It’s a great addition to your Halloween menu without being gimmicky. It’s an especially handy option if you have some cocktail snobs in the room.
Recipe
¾ oz gin
¾ oz dry vermouth
¾ oz sweet vermouth
½ fresh orange juice
½ tsp Grand Marnier
2-3 dashes of orange bitters
Orange peel
Shake all ingredients, except for the peel, with ice and strain into a coupe or martini glass. Garnish with orange peel.
The White Lady
If you want to celebrate with a little less pizzazz but still partake in all things Halloween, why not give the White Lady a shot? I came across this cocktail in the fantastic but its origins date to the late 1920’s in France. This tasty shaken cocktail will resemble a ghastly female spectre (or you can tell your guests that, at least!).
Recipe
2 oz gin
¾ oz Cointreau
¾ oz lemon juice
¼ oz simple syrup
1 egg white
Dry shake all the ingredients, then shake again with ice. Strain into a coupe or martini glass.
It may not be the flashiest drink of the bunch, and based on its looks it may not be the star of the show (especially in this company), but its flavours definitely carry some weight.
Sleepy Hollow Fizz
If you really want to show off this Halloween, get a little crazy and try making your cocktail inside of a baby pumpkin (please don’t carve it up or it won’t make a very good cup). You can put anything in there, but it does help to choose something that would benefit from a bit of pumpkin flavouring.
This year I picked the Sleepy Hollow Fizz, found in the wonderful book , though I made a few minor changes. Here’s the recipe I used:
Recipe
2 oz spiced rum
½ oz lemon juice
½ oz maple syrup
1 egg yolk
2 tsp pumpkin spice syrup (see below)
Club soda
Dry shake all the ingredients (except the club soda), then shake again with ice. Strain into a fizz glass (or a cleaned out baby pumpkin!) and top with club soda.
Now if your pumpkin is a bit bigger, you may have to increase the portions above and add some ice cubes (bearing in mind that this will water it down), but if you’re just going to use a fizz glass, this will work great and be delicious to boot.
Pumpkin Spice Syrup
It seems to have become cool to hate pumpkin spice this year, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t add a nice dimension to this cocktail. You could also easily store it to use in other cocktails in the place of simple syrup, or even get one over on Starbucks by making your own pumpkin spice latte. Here’s how you make it:
1 ½ cups water
1 ½ cups sugar
4 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cloves
¼ cup pumpkin puree (If you’re really crazy, you could make your own puree as well, but in this case I think getting it in a can is fine. The ingredients should consist solely of pumpkin and squash.)
Combine the water and sugar into a saucepan on medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients and continue to stir for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes, then strain into a pourer. Store in a refrigerator.
Negroni
This Halloween, I decided to be really original and make myself…a Negroni. It’s my favorite drink and I have it all the time. Change isn’t always good, after all. Not sure how to make it? Shame on you! We’ve talked about its greatness here and here.
Recipe
1 ½ oz gin
1 ½ oz sweet vermouth
1 ½ oz Campari
Orange twist
Fill a rocks glass with ice (or a single large ice cube) and pour in the ingredients. Gently stir to combine the flavours. Garnish with orange twist.
I did however dress it up a little…for the kids*. I measured out the Campari with a plastic syringe you can find at your local pharmacy and threw in a bubblegum eyeball.
Whether you’re handing out candy to the local kids or going out with your friends dressed as something ridiculous, you might as well enjoy one of the all-time great cocktails.
Black Martinis
This Halloween, try substituting the regular martinis on your drink menu with some spooky dark versions! Just be warned, although these drinks are good in their own right, they don’t actually taste like traditional martinis…
All three of the drinks should be shaken with ice and strained into a martini glass.
Black Martini #1
2 oz gin
1 oz black sambuca
2 tsp sweet vermouth (optional)
Black Martini #2
2 oz gin
1 oz Chambord
1/2 oz Blue Curacao
The Black Devil Martini
2 oz Dark Rum
½ oz Dry Vermouth
For the sweeter Black Martinis, we recommend garnishing with an orange twist. If you want to be more creative and get into the Halloween spirit, you could also rim your glass with black or orange sugar. For the Black Devil Martini, throw in some black olives instead of the traditional green.
Spooky…
There it is, plenty to choose from! Feel free to go a little crazy with your Halloween cocktails, but please remember: *Do not offer any to the trick-or-treaters. We can’t be held responsible if their parents call the police on you.
As always, we love to hear about which ones you’ve tried and liked or if there are any great ones that we missed (there definitely are), so hit us with you comments.
Happy Halloween!
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