It's that time of year again—spooky season has arrived. Whether it’s our collective excitement about Halloween or just rampant consumerism, there’s no escaping the jack-o’-lanterns, cobweb-decked bars, and costumery. Even if you’re not that into it, however, autumn is a fantastic time for cocktail creativity.
As the weather cools and the leaves turn, it’s a good time to take stock of your cocktail rotation and what’s on your shelves. Studies suggest that most drinkers shift their preferences with the seasons, gravitating more toward darker spirits in the fall and winter. Seasonality influences spirit drinkers even more than it does beer and wine drinkers, and more than a third of consumers choose seasonal drinks on menus, when available.
That means—you guessed it!—pumpkin spice. No, really: Pumpkin and gingerbread flavors are highly in demand this time of year. This season isn’t only for brown spirits… although many consumers tend to reach for those more often in fall and winter. If you’re a gin lover or won’t part with your vodka, spices and other fall flavors are a great way to build a seasonal approach to cocktails using all spirit categories.
Don’t Be Spooked by the Spice
Pumpkin-spice fatigue is real, and the popularity of those flavors comes with a lot of negativity. Was it always like this, or did it start with the rise of the pumpkin-spice latte? It’s a shame, really, because real pumpkin and baking spices can be fantastic flavors for cocktails. I mean, who doesn’t love pumpkin pie? The spices we associate with that holiday treat can enhance a cocktail, especially when using natural ingredients and quality spirits.
Apple, ginger, savory herbs, cinnamon—all these flavors can form winning combos with brown spirits. Gin and vodka can play, too, working with those flavors to deliver memorable fall cocktails.
Halloween is also a great time to add some spectacle to your mixing—light cinnamon on fire, bring in the smoke, add edible glitter, create playful garnishes, and use fun glassware. (Everyone loves a skull.) Embrace the season to your guests’ delight!
The Special Effects Department
The clarity of vodka and gin allows you to work with fun colors from natural ingredients. Butterfly pea tea naturally gives you purple, while beetroot powder brings a blood red. Many products on the market now can deliver colors for food and drink without artificial chemicals.
I’ll note here that using activated charcoal is divisive. Some experts believe that one capsule of activated charcoal is enough to potentially negate the effect of certain medicines you may be taking. Others say one capsule is perfectly safe. In the past, I typically used less than half a capsule to turn cocktails black—but these days, I stay away from using it, just to be on the safe side. Natural food coloring works just fine.
This is also the season for smoked cocktails, and smoke can add both flavor to the drinks and a show to the festivities. I love to add a smoky aroma and campfire vibe to cocktails, when appropriate.
There are lots of gadgets out there for smoking cocktails, and I've tried many. Some work great while others are not worth the money, so read the reviews before buying. The single smokers with the smoking hat over the glass are great for making one cocktail. However, I use a simple wooden board and glass, which is easy and effective. Guests love smoked cocktails, and the show adds to the presentation, creating a more memorable experience.
A final note on seasonality: Most of the country’s growing season for herbs and fruits is coming to an end. So, now is the time to make syrups and freeze herbs for later use.
Here, I include several recipes for drinks that deliver flavor, color, and intrigue. May they haunt your bar for years to come.
Yours Cruelly
We begin with a riff on a tiki-style cocktail inspired by the Mistress of the Dark herself, Elvira (pictured at top). This blackberry-and-cinnamon concoction gets blackberry jam instead of fresh berries, so you can make it throughout the cold season without relying on fresh blackberries. For a showstopping experience, find a cool tiki mug in which to serve it.
1½ oz bourbon
1 oz apple brandy
1 oz orange juice
1 Tbs blackberry jam
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with one large ice cube. Shake for 10–15 seconds and strain into a tiki mug over pebbled ice. Dust the top with nutmeg and garnish with blackberries.
The PumpKing
Pumpkin has a subtle, nutty flavor that can taste similar to papaya and, some say, even coconut. With its earthiness, pumpkin makes a great friend to whiskey and goes incredibly well with apples. (Try adding pumpkin puree to an apple pie. You’re welcome.)
This cocktail is like apple pie in a glass. Sage and bitters create balance and an edge. Adding black coloring and a bit of smoke makes it wickedly perfect for Halloween drinking.
1½ oz rye whiskey
1 oz unsweetened natural pumpkin puree
1 oz fresh apple cider
2 dashes barrel-aged bitters
½ oz light sage syrup (see below)
1 pinch Roxy & Rich, ¼ oz Midnight Black Petal Dust, or other natural black food coloring
1 small handful smoking chips
1 dried sage leaf
If you’re using a wooden board to smoke, place a small number of smoking chips on the board, light the chips on fire, and place a rocks glass upside down over the chips; the glass should begin to fill with smoke. Add all the ingredients to a mixing glass with cubed ice and stir well. Remove your smoked glass from the board and place it upright. Quickly strain the cocktail into the glass and add a king cube. Garnish with a dried black lemon.
A note about smoking the cocktail: If you have a drink-smoking apparatus on hand, that would work fine for this cocktail. If you’re using a wooden board, use one that is not varnished—and light only the chips, not the wood.
Sage Syrup
6–7 fresh sage leaves
1 cup water
½ cup sugar
Add 6–7 fresh sage leaves to water and bring to a simmer. After 2–3 minutes, remove the sage leaves and add the sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Store in a closed container in the refrigerator for 2–3 weeks.
Medusa
This cocktail creates a fall flavor profile by leaning into botanicals, spices, and pear. The gin I chose is pot-distilled, with a base of rye and corn—not a neutral base, and I love that. The botanicals are coriander, elderflower, Jamaican allspice, two types of cinnamon, and three types of citrus. What I love about this bouquet is that it’s more spicy than floral, so it’s fantastic for cocktails because the botanicals and spices still come through. The cinnamon is detectable, which makes for a beautiful addition to the pear. And, more importantly, the gin stands up to the absinthe.
Your choice of gin and absinthe will make or break this cocktail. Choose wisely. You want bold flavors, but not so bold that they knock out all the other components. For the absinthe, I went with one from Santa Fe, the Absinthe Verte from As Above, So Below. The flavors that resonate on the palate are your typical wormwood, anise, and fennel, but the hyssop is the hero. Hyssop is minty, with floral overtones and a whisper of a lavender-like aroma. However, the magic is in the balance, and here it is perfectly executed.
As Above, So Below’s absinthe couldn’t be more perfect for the season. To craft it, they begin by macerating in their high-proof house vodka during a full moon. As the next lunar cycle reaches its peak, they add additional botanicals. Then, when the moon reaches its fullness for the third time, they distill the maceration and infuse additional botanicals before a final maceration.
1½ oz Still Austin The Naturalist American Gin
¼ oz As Above, So Below Absinthe Verte
½ oz lime juice
1 oz pear juice
2 drops natural green food coloring
1 pinch green Brew Glitter
Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with cubed ice and shake well until cold to the touch. Strain into a stemmed glass and garnish with a gummi snake.
Carpathian Elixir
Cranberries are unsung heroes in the fruit category and a great ingredient to use in cocktails year-round. I like to make cranberry liqueur and syrups late in the summer and then use those flavors in the fall. In winter, I love to add frozen cranberries to hot toddies and punches, or drop them into glasses of prosecco on New Year’s Eve.
The cranberry also stars in this cocktail, so I went with a vodka that’s on the sweeter side, with a nice hearty mouthfeel—I find that wheat-based vodka can deliver that. Again, I love that this vodka isn’t entirely neutral: Along with its lovely texture, the sweet creaminess is a welcome addition.
As much as I love cranberry, this cocktail also needs a Halloween kick, so I add ginger, cinnamon, and black sesame. Black sesame has a nutty, earthy, and slightly bitter flavor, which is a perfect addition to the sweetness of the vodka and honey. The ginger adds a bit of zing, and the cinnamon brings the fall vibes. I also chose beetroot powder for its deep, blood-red color, which adds a bit of earthiness but not much flavor. This drink has been a staple in my Halloween repertoire for years, turning many skeptics into happy victims.
Wilton Edible Blood Red Glaze Icing
1½ oz Blackland vodka
1 oz black sesame, ginger, cinnamon, and honey syrup (see below)
1.2 oz cranberry liqueur
½ oz unsweetened cranberry juice
1 tsp beetroot powder
1 pinch red Brew Glitter
Drizzle the red glaze into the interior of a glass. Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker with cubed ice. Shake well until cold to the touch, then strain into the glazed glass filled with fresh ice.
Black Sesame, Ginger, Cinnamon, and Honey Syrup
½ cup black sesame seeds
2 Tbs cinnamon
2 Tbs ginger
1 cup water
1 cup raw honey
In a warm pot, stir the sesame seeds, cinnamon, and ginger; move them around in the pot until you hear a slight sizzle or pop. Add water and stir until the water begins to simmer. Maintain a low simmer for 15 minutes. Strain out the seeds, return the water to the pot, and add the honey. Heat and stir until the honey dissolves. Allow the syrup to cool and store in a closed container in the refrigerator for 2–3 weeks.
If you’re not interested in making your cranberry liqueur, plenty of quality craft versions are on the market. But here’s a quick and simple recipe.
Cranberry Liqueur
1 cup crushed cranberries
2 cup high-proof spirit (150+)
1½ cup raw sugar
1 cup distilled water
Add the crushed cranberries to the spirit and steep for 5 days. Strain the cranberries from the alcohol and add the sugar. Stir until the sugar completely dissolves, then add the water and stir well. Funnel into a glass jar with a lid, and keep it in the refrigerator for extra safety.
Have a blast leaning into the creative nature of the season. And keep it spooky!