Halloween is here and it is time to transform and shapeshift into your favourite character as you gear up to throw the perfect house party for your friends. Pumpkin spiced lattes, spooky decorations and a whole lot of candy are essentials, but Halloween feels incomplete without some yummy, yet spooky sips too! Read on as these cocktails are sure to make your evening a little spookier and a lot tastier. You don’t have to be an experienced mixologist to whip up the these delish cocktails. Whichever you pick, you can’t go wrong with this selection, so get creative and don’t forget to add a touch of goulish garnish!
GHOST EYES
Ingredients
60ML White Rum
75ML Lychee Juice
10ML Blue Curacao syrup
Top up with Ginger Ale
Preparation
Build ingredients over ice and slowly pour blue curacao over the top. Serve in highball glass with 2 lychees stuffed with black olives. Beware, the spirits are always watching.
Bloody Zombie
Ingredients
60ml White Rum
40ml Orange Juice
40ml Pineapple Juice
10ml Lime Juice
10ml Grenadine syrup
Preparation
Build up over ice. Add grenadine in a pipette/dropper, and invite your guests to press it into the drink. Garnish with orange wedges and cherries on a cocktail stick.
TWINKLE IN THE DARK BY THE DRUNKEN BOTANIST
Ingredients
60 ml Vodka
15 ml Lavender
15 ml Cherry syrup
10 ml Lime juice
Shaken and Fine strain
Preparation
First we muddle the cherry into shaker then we put lime juice , lavender syrup , cherry syrup and Vodka shaken hard and then pour into Martini glass garnish with cherry
PUMPKIN SPICE SOUR
Ingredients
50ml Johnnie Walker Black Label
30ml Pumpkin Spice Cordial*
10ml Lemon Juice
1 Tsp Honey
10ml Egg White
Preparation
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker
Fill shaker with ice
Close shaker and shake for 15 seconds
Fine strain into the chilled coupette glass
Garnish with lemon peel and enjoy
Serve in a chilled Coupette glass
*Chop and juice pumpkin pieces in a centrifugal juicer (like an apple). Per 250ml of pumpkin juice, add: 100g sugar, 1 Tsp Mixed Spice (cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, all spice dram), 0.5 Tsp Citric Acid. Stir to dissolve and strain through a cloth.
Tim’s Top Tips for Halloween Cocktails
• If you don’t have a centrifugal juicer, then ensure you use a high-powered blender to blend steamed/boiled pumpkin to a velvety-smooth texture. Otherwise, it will break up when combines with other ingredients.
• If you have fruit (yes, pumpkin is a fruit) which is just on the verge of going bad, adding alcohol can capture the peak ripeness.
• If you choose a coupe glass, the drink has more of the pumpkin look. Coupes are stemmed and have a rounded bowl rather than the V shape of a standard cocktail glass.
CAJUN MARGARITA BY DEEPAK JIYAL – BAR MANAGER, THE PIANO MAN
Ingredients
2 ounces silver tequila
2 ounces lime juice
2 ounces orange juice, fresh
1/2 ounce jalapeno simple syrup
1 jalapeno, thinly sliced for garnish
1 large jalapeno, seeds removed and halved
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/4 cup sea salt
2 tablespoons chile powder
2 teaspoons lime zest
Method
Making the jalapeno simple syrup
Place the water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a low boil. Give it a stir to help dissolve the sugar. Once all the sugar is dissolved add the jalapeno and simmer for 10 more minutes. Turn the heat off, and allow the jalapeno to steep for 10 to 30 minutes. The longer you steep the spicier the syrup will be. Taste and when you’re happy with the flavor, allow to cool and then strain into a glass jar and put in the refrigerator to cool. If you need it immediately, put some in the freezer and take it out once it’s cool. It can be kept refrigerated for 3-4 weeks.
Making the Chili Salt
Mix all the ingredients for the chili salt in a small bowl. Then spoon on a small flat plate in a circle about the size of your margarita glasses
Preparation
Rub a slice of lime around the rim of the margarita glass to moisten. Then turn it face down onto the plate with the chili lime salt mixture to coat the rim.
Place all the margarita ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Pour into a margarita glass with ice and the rim salted (use chili salt recipe). Add a few slices of jalapeno for garnish.
THE LAKESIDE
Ingredients
40 ml Belvedere Vodka
15 ml Fino Sherry
25 ml Fresh Lemon Juice
25 ml Honey Water
2 chunks Fresh Cucumber
Preparation
Add all ingredients to a shaker over cubed ice and shake vigorously. Fine strain into a chilled coupette. Garnish with fresh cucumber.
