13 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN
CORPSE REVIVER #2
Originally touted as a hangover cure, the Corpse Reviver #2 was first published in the Savoy cocktail book in 1930, but has origins dating back to the 1870s.
With its thematic name and a flamed orange peel to top, this dead-raising drink is a bright and citrusy must-have for any Halloween gathering.
And if you find yourself feeling hungover the following morning, round two may be just what the doctor ordered!
Classic Build:
1oz Cointreau
1oz Fresh-Squeezed Lemon Juice
1 dash Lucid Absinthe
Combine in shaker, shake, double strain, serve in Coupe glass, flamed orange peel garnish* (or orange peel)
*Oils in the orange peel will ignite. Please proceed with caution.
Our favorite brands are linked above, but substitutes could be made.
PUMPKIN SPICE OLD FASHIONED
The pumpkin spice latte’s older sibling is definitely this- the pumpkin Spiced Old Fashioned.
A house-made twist on a classic that is boozy, balanced, and bitter… containing more body than its traditional counterpart, but spiced perfectly to be undoubtedly “fall.”
Made with the beloved Four Roses bourbon plus pumpkin spice syrup and spiced bitters- both of which we make in-house.
Build:
2 oz Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon (or other)
2 dashes House-made Pumpkin Spice Bitters
½ oz House-made Pumpkin Spice Syrup
Build in mixing glass, stir over ice, double strain over a large cube in a rocks glass, dehydrated orange wheel & cinnamon stick garnish
Pumpkin Spice Syrup
½ cup Brown Sugar
½ cup water
3 Tbsp Pumpkin Puree
1 Tbsp Pumpkin Spice
Bring all ingredients together in a small saucepan over low heat.
Stir just until all sugar is dissolved and everything is incorporated.
When syrup has cooled, pass it through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth.
Bottle and keep for up to two weeks
Pumpkin Spice Bitters
¼ cup pumpkin spice
2 cups 151 proof neutral spirit or white rum
Combine Pumpkin spice and alcohol in a sealed container.
Let the mixture sit for 24hrs.
Pass the mixture through a coffee filter.
Bottle and keep indefinitely.
EVIL APPLE SLING
An atypical flavor combination that just works. Gin-based with a house-made green apple matcha syrup, this tart and herbal cocktail packs a citrusy punch.
Build:
¾ oz Green Apple Matcha Syrup
3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
1 ½ oz Haymans London Dry gin
Shake over crushed ice, dump contents (ice included) into Collins glass, garnish with fresh sage sprig
Green Apple Matcha Syrup:
200ml Granny Smith Juice (A large apple should yield around 100ml of juice)
200ml Cane Sugar
2 Tbsp Matcha Powder
Cold Press your apples.
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on low until combined.
Pass the syrup through a fine mesh strainer
Bottle and keep for two weeks
GRAVE DIGGER
Peak spooky season calls for a spooky mezcal cocktail. The Grave Digger is the perfect smokey seasonal add to get anyone in the Halloween mood.
Build:
1 ½ oz Banhez Mezcal
¾ oz Fresh Lime Juice
¾ oz Mulling Spice Rosemary Syrup
1 oz Reed’s Extra Ginger Beer
Shake Mezcal, lime juice, and mulling spice rosemary syrup over ice, double strain over a large cube in a rocks glass, top with ginger beer, garnish with a hawaiian black salt rim and a blackened dehydrated lime wheel.
Mulling Spice Rosemary Syrup:
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Water
6 allspice Berries
1 Star Anise
2 Cinnamon Sticks (Crushed)
6 Cloves
2 Black Peppercorns
5 Cardamom Pods
1 Tbsp Dried Orange Peel
2 Sprigs Rosemary
Combine all ingredients (Except Rosemary and Dried Orange Peel) in a small pot.
Bring mixture to a simmer
When a simmer is hit, remove from the heat, add Dried Orange peel & Rosemary, and cover the pot.
Let this sit and infuse like a tea for 30 minutes.
Strain everything through a fine mesh strainer
Bottle and keep for up to two weeks.
BAD BLOOD
Vampire blood, that is.
While this vodka sour cocktail could be enjoyed year-round, there’s something spooky when it’s called Vampire Blood and served in a straight-edged martini glass🧛🏼♂️
We blend whole amarena cherries, add basil, and make a simple syrup that is so dark red, it almost appears BLACK.
The basil is definitely discernible, but it is not cutting to the palette… Edward Cullen approved.
Build:
1 ½ oz Ketel One Vodka
¾ oz Amarena Cherry + Basil Syrup
¾ oz Fresh Lime Juice
Shake over ice, double strain into martini glass, garnish with amarena cherries
Cherry Basil Syrup
2 cups amarena cherries (and syrup)
1 cup roughly chopped basil (Stalks and leaves included)
Place all ingredients into a blender and blend on high until smooth.
Pass your resulting mixture through a nut-milk bag
Bottle and keep for up to two weeks
BLOOD ORANGE & CINNAMON DAIQUIRI
When thinking of fall, rum is probably not the first thing that comes to mind. With blood orange, house cinnamon syrup, angostura, and a sage leaf shake, we may no longer be in typical “daiquiri” territory. Regardless, this new house cocktail is bright and refreshing, yet SO very fall on the palette. Yes, rum is season-transitional!
Build:
1 oz Acid-adjusted Blood Orange Juice
1 1/2 oz White Rum
3/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters
4 Sage Leaves
Shake all ingredients (Including whole sage leaves) over ice, double strain into a coupe glass, sage or cinnamon garnish.
Acid-adjusted Blood Orange Juice
Take the total weight of juice yielded and add 0.05% malic acid and 1.25% citric acid
EX:
For 100g Blood Orange Juice
Add 0.05g Malic Acid
Add 1.25g Citric Acid
Cinnamon Syrup:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
4 cinnamon sticks
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat.
When the mixture comes to a simmer, remove it from the heat and set aside to cool.
Place the cooled mixture in a sealed container in the fridge overnight.
Strain and bottle for up to two weeks.
FALL HARVEST GOLD RUSH
The 13 Days of Halloween, cocktail style, is halfway over!!!
Today’s is a personal favorite of mine- a fall spin on a modern classic Gold Rush. The Gold Rush is similar in character to a Bee’s Knees, subbing bourbon for vodka. It only dates back to the mid-2000s where it was first served at Milk & Honey in New York.
Our fall twist- Fall Harvest Gold Rush- incorporates local honey and age syrup, and a little allspice dram for added coziness. 🧡
Fanned sage garnish and light orange hue
Build:
2 oz Overproof Bourbon
1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
1 oz Honey sage syrup
1/4 oz allspice dram
Shake all ingredients over ice, Double strain over a large cube in a rocks glass
Dehydrated lemon peel and sage garnish
Honey Sage Syrup
1 cup honey
60g fresh sage leaves
1 cup hot water
Roughly chop sage leaves.
Combine honey and fresh sage leaves in a sealed container and let them infuse at room temperature for one week.
Cut the honey with hot water and stir until incorporated.
Strain through a fine mesh strainer.
Bottle and keep for up to two weeks.
HAYRIDE HOT TODDY
This is the only hot drink we are featuring during the 13 Days of Halloween- as it’s not fall or winter without a warm cocktail in hand! While a traditional hot toddy is delicious, topping one up with hot mulled cider in place of water provides a noticeable bump in flavor. For ours, we use a bourbon base- If bourbon is not your preference, we recommend trying this drink with Mezcal or Pertsovka.
Smokey mezcal with apple and spice would be absolutely heavenly, too.
Build:
1 1/2 oz Overproof Bourbon
3/4 oz honey syrup
1/4 oz fresh lemon juice
Mulled apple cider
Fill 6 oz mug with hot water
Add Bourbon, honey syrup, and lemon to a heated mixing glass and stir
Dump the mug and pour the cocktail in from the mixing glass.
Fill the mug to the top with mulled cider
Dehydrated lemon wheel and clove garnish
Honey Syrup:
1 part honey to 1 part hot water
Stir to combine.
REVOLVER
Similar to the Corpse Reviver No. 2 from Day 1, the Revolver also sports a flamed orange peel.
In addition to its flamed orange peel garnish, the Revolver has a minimal build with readily available ingredients and was founded in San Francisco in 2004.
Based on a Manhattan, this cocktail swaps the vermouth for coffee liquor. At a time when the modern cocktail renaissance was just getting underway, this drink required no housemade syrups, or infusions. It was easily replicated, delicious, and has only grown in popularity since.
Build:
2 Dashes Regans’ Orange Bitters
2 oz Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon
Build in mixing glass, stir over ice, double strain into a Nick & Nora glass, flamed orange peel twist.
THE APPARITION (LYCHEE MARTINI)
Ghostly white body with vapor pouring from a cauldron…
Add in a lychee “eyeball” garnish and zombie bartenders, our take on a lychee martini is the ultimate SPOOKY cocktail.
Our house lychee martini has been SO popular with our wedding clients this year. It is stark white, floral, and very refreshing. With a simple swap of garnishes, this drink easily turns BRIDAL.
But for now, we’ll keep it spooky! 👻
Build:
1 1/2 oz Vodka
1 1/2 oz Lychee Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Lavender Syrup
Bar Spoon White Vermouth
ZOMBIE
Cue The Cranberries, or Miley Cyrus if that’s more your jam-
ZOMBIE
Halloween calls for at least one Zombie, and why not make it a tropical one?! This 1934 tiki classic contains a whopping four ounces of rum!
With three different types of rum + fresh citrus + house-made simples + bitters, this cocktail is sure to sneak up on you. 🧟🌴🍹
SCOTCHED PEAR
For those with a taste for the bitter and refreshing combo, this is a must. It combines Cynar with scotch for a blend of bitter and smokey- the smoke is further fortified with a pear syrup we house-smoke with post oak. Add in a little lemon and a dash of angostura, and you have a drink for the season.
Build:
1 ½ oz Scotch
½ oz Cynar
¾ oz Fresh lemon juice
¾ oz Smoked pear syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters
Quick shake over crushed ice, dump cocktail with ice into rocks glass. Top with a dehydrated lemon wheel.
SKELETON KEY HIGHBALL
IT’S HALLOWEEN!
We’re ending on a true piece of Halloween history!
Hailing from Detroit in 2011, the Skeleton Key Highball was created and entered into a local Halloween cocktail competition. Since then, it’s become a staple at many bars. It starts with double-oaked bourbon, adds elderflower to brighten it up, then has a dash of ginger + red angostura float for a touch of spice. ✨
Build:
1 ¼ oz Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon
¾ oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
½ oz Fresh Lemon Juice
4 oz Reed's Extra Ginger Beer
8ish dashes Angostura Bitters
Shake Bourbon, lemon, & St. Germain, Double strain into a Collins glass over ice, Top with ginger beer, Garnish with Angostura Float.
