Happy Hour: Halloween Cocktails & Bar Prep

The Perfect Sip

It’s Happy Hour and Halloween! We’re presenting two Halloween inspired cocktails to celebrate. But first, we talk about our bar and cocktail making set ups and trade tips and tricks to simplify cocktail crafting and cleaning up afterward.

Then, Ben presents his cocktail the Horseman’s Head*. This White Russian and Pumpkin Spice Latte mashup is a wonderful creamy dessert cocktail that leans heavily on traditional fall flavors. But it’s anything but basic.

Matthew then goes after the witches* with his Burned at the Stake. This smoky and tart kicked-up margarita looks as good as it tastes. Perfect in the hands of a sexy vampire handing out candy or a rain soaked parent wearing an orange button that says “Boo!”

*No horsemen or witches were harmed in the making of these cocktails.

Too Long, Didn’t Listen

(00:00) We want to suck your blood

(02:26) How to set up your bar for maximum cocktail efficiency (or when Jane from accounting ruins your day).

(07:22) Matthew comes clean about his 98(!)-bottle bar

(13:31) Cleaning tips and tricks

(18:15) Handling distractions and parenting advice

(19:00) … and marriage advice

(20:09) Angostura bitters: the stealthy stain master

(24:41) What makes a cocktail a “Halloween cocktail”?

(26:15) Cocktail 1: Horseman’s Head – A creamy, boozy pumpkin-spiced delight.

(34:50) Cocktail 2: Burned at the Stake – A smoky, citrusy margarita riff with a haunting twist.

Recipes

Horseman’s Head (26:15)

• 1 oz Mr. Black coffee liqueur
• 1 oz vodka
• 2 oz Heavy Cream / Whipping Cream
• 3/4 oz Pumpkin Spice Syrup
• Combine Mr. Black’s, Vodka and pumpkin spice syrup in a mixing glass. Stir to combine. Pour over a very large single ice cube in a rocks glass. Stir gently to slightly chill. In a separate mixing glass slightly whip cream with a milk frother. (You can also shake in a mason jar.) Once cream has thickened to a thick but pourable consistency, gently pour into the glass. Aim for the top middle of the ice cube.

Pumpkin Spice Syrup

• 1 part pumpkin juice
• 1 part Demerara sugar
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2-4 slices of fresh ginger
• whole nutmeg
• Heat pumpkin juice over low heat. Add Demerara sugar and stir until dissolved. Bring to a slight simmer and add cinnamon sticks and ginger slices. Remove from heat and let ginger and cinnamon steep for 5-10 minutes. Remove ginger. Grate whole nutmeg over syrup to taste. Stir to combine and store in a well-sealed container with cinnamon sticks. (Or remove them, I don’t care. I’m sure someone on the internet has a strong opinion about this; maybe you can search for it.)

Burned at the Stake (34:50)

• 1 1/2 oz tequila teposado
• 1/2 oz mezcal
• 1 oz lime juice
• 1/2 oz Grand Marnier
• 1/2 oz grenadine
• Garnish: Black salt rim and a blood orange slice
• Rim a rocks glass with lime and black salt for an eerie effect. In a shaker, combine tequila, mezcal, lime juice, Grand Marnier, and grenadine. Shake well and strain into the prepared glass over ice. Garnish with a blood orange slice for that extra spooky look.

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Books & Equipment Links

The links below that point to Amazon are affiliate links. If you click on them and make a purchase we may receive a small compensation at no extra cost to you. Links to any other destination are not affiliate links.

Books

We own and recommend these books:

The 12 Bottle Bar: Make Hundreds of Cocktails with Just Twelve Bottles by David Solmonson, Lesley Jacobs Solmonson

Liquid Intelligence: The Art and Science of the Perfect Cocktail by Dave Arnold

Imbibe! by David Wondrich

Cocktail Codex by Alex Day, Nick Fauchald, David Kaplan

Equipment

Products we own, like and use:

• Measuring tools
• OXO Good Grips Mini Angled Measuring Cup, 2 Oz capacity
• OXO Metal Angled Measuring Cup
• OXO SteeL Double Jigger
• Shakers
• This shaking set is sold as two separate items on Amazon, you will need both
• Cocktail Kingdom Koriko Small Weighted Shaking Tin
• Cocktail Kingdom Koriko Large Weighted Shaking Tin
• Mixing Glasses/Tins
• Viski Crystal Mixing Glass, 17 oz
• Pint glass: you don’t need a link for this do you?
• Peelers
• OXO Good Grips Y-Peeler
• Bar Spoons
• Crate & Barrel: Bar Spoon with Muddler
• Cork Screw / Bottle Opener
• True Truetap Double Hinged Waiters Corkscrew
• Bar Towels
• White Flour Sack Towels
• Glassware
• Highball
• Strauss 13-Oz. Cooler Glass
• Lowball
• Crescent 10-Oz. Double Old-Fashioned Glass
• Strauss 11-Oz. Double Old-Fashioned Glass
• Stemmed
• Mercer 10-Oz. Coupe Glass

Products we don’t own but would consider buying:

• Measuring Tools
• Cocktail Farmer Standard Jigger
• Piña Barware Bell/Leopold Style Stainless Steel Jigger 2oz. / 1oz.
• Piña Barware Slim/Japanese Style Stainless Steel Jigger 2oz. / 1oz.
• Shakers
• A Bar Above Weighted Craft Boston Shaker Set (Single set slightly less expensive than the Koriko)
• Houdini Boston Cocktail Shaker (a well rated pint glass set)
• Barfly Double Wall Diamond Lattice Mixing Tin
• Knives
• Cocktail Kingdom Buswell Paring Knife
• Victorinox 3.25 Inch Swiss Classic Paring Knife (Green - Black seems to be in high demand)
• Cutting Board
• Jelli Reversible Black Marble 14.5"x11" Cutting Board
• Bar Spoons
• Cocktail Kingdom Skull (We wouldn’t really buy this but it looks cool)
• A metal finger, not a spoon (I could resist linking to this one)
• Homestia Gothic Skull Bar Spoon (A cheaper skull)
• Viski Stainless Steel Weighted Barspoon
• Hawthorne Strainers
• Barfly Bar Strainer, Stainless Steel
• A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer
• Julep Strainers
• Cocktail Kingdom Premium Julep Strainer

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