SB Picks: Halloween cocktails

While many of you reading this page will no doubt be a bit too old to trick or treat today with pride – admit it – our age does allow us to indulge ourselves this 31 October with some delectable Halloween cocktails instead.

The Artesian Halloween cocktail Bone thumb

As we look out of our office windows in London, sunlight streaming in, it’s hard to believe that the streets around us, in only a few hours time, will be populated by ghouls, witches and devils, or at least small children dressed up as such.

While some will dress as pumpkins, black cats or the undead, others may choose to celebrate this ancient New Year’s eve in a different manner. It seems quite fitting to celebrate the day the dead walk amongst the living with a selection of carefully mixed spirits, so for those of you seeking shelter, away from the demonic infestation on the streets, here are a selection of equally fiendish cocktails to keep you occupied until the worst of the siege of the living dead has passed, or at least the warming glow from the alcohol has left you impervious to the worst effects of it all.

Box ‘O’ Bones

Award winning mixologist Alex Kratena at The Artesian at The Langham, London, has come up with a suitably unnerving drink for Halloween – or rather a particularly fitting presentation. The Box’O’Bones comes in a black box with an unlabeled brown glass bottle and a hollowed-out half bone. Customers are invited to pour the drink down the bone chute, to deepen the flavour of the cocktail with the residual bone marrow. Not one for vegetarians or the squeamish. Available until 9 November for £16.50.
Ingredients:
30ml High West double Rye Whiskey
30ml Calle 23 Reposado tequila
30ml Carpano Bianco
30ml Noilly Prat
1 dash Bergamot Bitter
1 dash Abbots

Bone optional.

Pinnacle Chocolate Pumpkin

The latest flavour from US vodka brand Pinnacle caused a bit of stir upon its release last month. Timed perfectly to coincide with the most pumpkiny of holidays, Pinnacle Pumpkin Pie vodka lends itself harmoniously to indulgent cocktails to celebrate Halloween. This recipe, one of our favourites, resembles an actual pumpkin pie in a Martini glass, but with the rich taste of chocolate to boot.

Ingredients:
2 parts Pinnacle Pumpkin Pie Vodka
1 part Creme de Cacao
1 part Chocolate Milk
Shake with ice, strain into a crushed graham cracker rimmed martini glass, and top with whipped cream.

Brain Hemorrhage

Antico, a rustic Italian restaurant in London’s Bermondsey, is serving a selection of evil cocktails for Halloween, including this classic, yet gruesomely named ‘Brain Hemorrhage’ shooter, as well as a selection of Trick or Treat shooters.

Ingredients:
Peach Schnapps
Float 1-2 tbspn Bailey’s on top
Drop 1 tsp grenadine through the Bailey’s

Tommy’s Margarita
Day of the Dead, the Mexican take on Halloween, very similar in context, but while Halloween caters for a much younger audience, Day of the Dead has no trick or treating, no sweets to speak of, and lasts for four days. In London, premium Tequila brand Olmeca has teamed up with restaurant chain Wahaca to bring Mexico’s party to London. Held in The Old Vic Tunnels in Waterloo, there will be music, dancing, Mexican food and, needless to say, a plethora of Tequila cocktails. We know this recipe, named after Wahaca owner Thomasina Miers, isn’t particularly Halloween-inspired, but its roots in Mexican culture make it a perfect drink to serve at Day of the Dead-themed celebrations.

Ingredients:
35ml Altos Blanco Tequila
25ml fresh lime juice
10ml agave syrup

Other Day of the Dead cocktails:

Paloma: 35ml Altos Blanco Tequila, 15ml lime juice, 1 pinch salt, top with grapefruit soda

Jasmine Margarita punch (for two): 35ml Altos Blanco Tequila, 25ml fresh lime juice, 10ml agave syrup, 150ml jasmine tea

Dark and Spooky

In the old-school glamour of Midtown New York’s NOIR, Halloween is being marked by The Dark and Spooky, a rum based cocktail created by the USBG’s ‘Most inspired barman’, Adam Delgiudice, which offers a suitably spooky two-tone layered effect.

Ingredients:
Cruzan Black Strap Rum
Marie Brizard Orange Liqueur
Muddled mango
Freshly squeezed lime juice
Orange juice
Cranberry juice
Method: Muddle the mango and shake with all ingredients – except the rum. Strain over ice and layer the rum on top. Garnish with a cube of mango.

Witches Brew

The Fairmont chain of hotels and resorts is offering a selection of creepy cocktails to celebrate Halloween, with a variety of offerings in different hotels across the continent. This example, pictured, comes from Arizona and caters for all trick or treaters with a sweet tooth.

Ingredients
2 ¼ oz Bacardi Light
2 ¼ oz Meyers Rum
1 ¼ oz Bacardi 151
2 ½ oz Pineapple juice
2 ½ oz Orange juice
1 ¼ oz sour mix
1 ¼ oz Grenadine
Garnish with sour or standard gummy worms