Cocktail: Autumn In Manhattan

Invented a cocktail for the season (and for to-go cups).  Should be good warmed up, but we've only done a chilled version.  

The Autumn in Manhattan:

4 ounces apple cider

2 ounces bourbon

1 ounce Sherry

1 ounce Ploughman's The Plenum (apple & cherry vermouth)

Silver Shamrock Shake

To us, it was a way of controlling our environment. It's not so different now... it's time again. In the end, we don't decide these things, you know; the planets do. They're in alignment, and it's time again.

- Conal Cochran, Halloween III

Click below...

Hersheypark Halloween

From the 2022 season, a series of food and beverage offerings that are pretty nifty:

House-made Blood Orange Black Sorbet in a black vanilla specialty waffle cone dipped in white chocolate and red sugar, and topped with house-made raspberry sauce.

Become a mad scientist as you inject this crab and corn fritter creation with a cocktail sauce syringe.

Brisket Sandwich with Black Brioche Bun.

These ooey-gooey melted cheese buns are perfect for dipping in marinara sauce.

ALL HALLOW'S EVE PUNCH

Orange Vodka, Cointreau, Orange Soda, Red Corn Syrup Rim

GLOWING GOBLIN

Bribon, Midori, Pineapple Juice, Lime Juice, Black Salt Rim

GHOSTINI

Vanilla Vodka, Godiva White Chocolate, Frangelico, White Sugar Rim topped with Whipped Cream and Halloween Sprinkles 

POISON APPLE MOCKTAIL

Granny Smith Apple Syrup with Apple Juice, topped with Sierra Mist

Click here for the article.

Annual Pumpkin Ale Reviews

Annual pumpkin ale reviews from Sam Heimer and Fatherkrespi. Two Halloween enthusiasts trying everything so you don’t have to.

I recently mentioned this IG account and they have just started posting this season's ale reviews.

Click below...

Monster Mash Bloody Mary Challenge

I DO love a good Bloody Mary (started off my day today with one at a really neat diner).  I'm really hoping the event below is continued again this October.  Most of these sound utterly amazing.  Thanks, Wren!  I WILL have a green Bloody Mary before I croak.  Never even knew they existed.

From the site:

Our second annual celebration of the Bloody Mary kicks off October 9th, 2021. The Monster Mash adds a haunted twist to this storied beverage, challenging more than a dozen Northern Liberties bars to up their game and add some spooky design. Sponsored by locally made Stateside Vodka.

Drinkers will have nine days to taste each bloody and rate them on spice, taste, bling, and “halloweeniness.” Bragging rights will be awarded for each category and for the best overall Bloody Mary in the neighborhood.

And here are 2021's offerings...

Anejo – The Green Goblin: This cocktail bleeds green with a house-made base of tomatillos, cucumber, yellow tomato, jalepeno, hot sauce, horseradish, worchestshire, celery seed, salt & pequin pepper. Featuring Crystal Head Onyx Agave Vodka with bacon-washed Creyente Mezcal.

Cantina Dos Segundos – Brujah’s Brew: Those who seek a drink born from fire, look no further than this spicy & tangy Mary built on a pyre of roasted tomatillo, green tomato, roasted peppers, and finished with a kick of citrus.

Bourbon & Branch – The Hail Mary – Jersey fresh tomato, horseradish, black pepper infused vodka, cajun spice, coconut aminos, garnished with Pizza Gutt pan pizza, onion rings, chicken tenders, pepperoni, buttermilk ranch and a pickled long hot.  It’s a meal in a glass!

El Camino Real – Everything is Bigger in Texas: House-Made Bloody Mary Mix, Tito’s Vodka, Candied Bacon, Fried Chicken Slider, Pickled Jalapenos, Poached Shrimp

El Camino Real – Bloody Mary’s Revenge: Ghost Chili and Horseradish Bloody Mary Mix, Jalapeno Infused Tito’s Vodka, Radish Eyeballs, Purple Fingers, Ghost Chili Spiced Rim

Figo Ristorante (brand new place!) – Discendenza: Grappa, Roma tomato, horseradish, Calabrian Chile, Genovese basil

Germantown Garden – Green Monster: Tito’s, Tomatillo, wasabi, green tobasco, lime, cumin

Germantown Garden Grille – Fegadero: Blanco tequila, tomato juice, horseradish, sriracha, lemon, Bacon, Tiny’s burger slider

Heritage – TBD

Jerry’s Bar – The Devil Jerry: Perched atop to-die-for deviled eggs, Devil Jerry takes shape with red pepper, pepperoncini, a girkin pickle and grape tomatoes. Served on a flashing chilled cauldron of ice with blood red salt rim and stuffed olives.

North 3rd – Monster Mary: A neighborhood favorite for 20 years, North 3rd’s special spin on a classic is their house-made vegan buffalo sauce.

North Bowl – The Bugs Mary – A carrot puree base with pickle juice and a tomato float. This bloody will turn your pumpkin orange.

SET NoLibs – Bloody Sriracha Mary: A combination of our Thai Thai Siracha Wong sauce and blood Mary

Silk City– Silk Backyard Bloody: Blending the flavors of Stateside Vodka and Ancho Reyes Chili Liqueur, this Bloody is perfect for lounging in our Garden. Garnished with shrimp, celery, and bacon, you can​ ​​enjoy surf and turf without shore​ traffic​.

Standard Tap – Twisted Mary Burn in Hell: It’s the hellish spawn of an unholy crossing of the chiles of the netherworld and tormented spirits.

The Abbaye – The Monstrous Mary: Crafted from ancho and smoked chili, horseradish, tomato juice, peaflower infused shimmery vodka, black pepper candied bacon, with a haunted vapor.

Urban Village – The Black Widow: UV’s house bloody mix, with a dash of witches’ brew: activated charcoal, oatmeal stout, house fermented sriracha and State Side vodka infused with smoked bacon, garnished of course with a whole prawn.

The article here.

Williams Sonoma Halloween 2022

Conjure up fun, festive drinks at your next Halloween gathering. Made with a fruity blend of blackberry juice, blood orange juice and lemon juice, our haunting cocktail mixer is highlighted with ginger and subtly sweetened with agave. Its bewitching purple hue and syrupy texture create a spellbinding beverage when served with vodka and ice.

Click here to see other offerings.

Adults-Only Halloween Party From Martha

Sounds debaucherously suspicious.  

Oh, Martha.

Garden-of-Evil Punch

Deeply colored frozen fruits-kumquats, husk cherries, red grapes, and pomegranate seeds-float atop a brew of dry sake, plum wine, and pomegranate juice, a blood-red liquid well-suited to an All Hallow's Eve celebration. The finishing touch is a garnish of hibiscus and begonia leaves.

Medusa's Hair Grissini with Dark-Night Dip

Black tahini transforms baba ghanoush into bubbling tar. Luckily, it's still as creamy of texture and smoky of taste as usual. The perfect partner for this delicious Dar-Night Dip is our unique and creepy Medusa's Hair Grissini "snakes." Never was a next-level snack so easy to make: Divide store-bought pizza dough in two, add a little squid ink to half, and roll and bake it into crisp but not straight grissini.

and Telltale Hearts.

Notched dried figs stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped in prosciutto, drizzled with balsamic vinegar, and skewered with decorative picks invite your guests to eat their hearts out.

Click below...

Spooky, Smoky Cocktails For Halloween (I Need A Smoker)

1 oz Mezcal
1 oz Applejack
½ oz Benedictine
1 tbsp Maple syrup

Combine all ingredients in a rocks glass over one large ice cube. Stir until well chilled.

Garnish with an aromatic (cinnamon, thyme, rosemary, star anise are good options) and place the drink inside the smoking box. Fill the box with smoke according to package instructions. Let the cocktail sit in the smoke-filled box for a few moments, then open and drink immediately.

Click below...

Annual Pumpkin Ale Reviews

Sure, there's no disputing tastes, but this IG account will come in handy when the pumpkin ales start hitting the stores.  Co-run by a favorite Halloween artist too.

Click below...

Thanks, Wren!  

Mugs By Midnight_Movie_Gay

These are fun...

More designs here.

Winter Recommendation

If you have a Trader Joe's near you...

A sweetened blend of black currant, apple, and lemon juices, with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, and orange peel, this is a fruit punch whose flavors and aromas evoke the holidays. You can serve it chilled, over ice, or warmed, in a big mug, with a cinnamon stick garnish. It's also a merry mixer with red wine, simmered on the stovetop and served steaming.

Now Drinking: Super Spiced

Mix this stuff with some of that apple cider the supermarkets sell this time of year...the ones that are spiced...and you have yourself something awesome.

Jack-O Traveler

After years of searching for a pumpkin ale/beer that appeals to me, I think I just found it, in the form of a shandy.  The Jack-O Traveler from the Traveler Beer Company.  It's light and spicy, and not too sweet, with a lot of lemony zest going on.  Has a really nice and nutty finish.

I highly recommend it for those who might always have high hopes for the seasonal pumpkin beers, but who are always a little disappointed with the offerings.

Jack-O Traveler is an alluring wheat beer illuminated by the tastes of fall. He strikes a perfect balance between bright refreshment and seasonal spice. Jack is brewed with fresh pumpkin, for a delicious dark-hued, Shandy-inspired beer.

Space Mead

I'm all for food/beverage tributes to literary/film references.  Like I'd love to find a bottle of Romulan Ale in the state store.  Blade Runner noodles are at the top of the list...the Dune spice chew....
Yoda's stew...

Honey Ale is brewed with Summit and El Dolorado hops, honey, and five different types of malt, including honey malt. Narragansett Beer President Mark Hellendrung explains, “This one is really a prologue about H.P. Lovecraft himself. We picked one of his stories, ‘The Festival,’ where there’s a space mead consumed by a winged creature. What’s great about craft beer is that it’s really breaking the style boundaries and guidelines. So, this is Sean’s [Larkin, Brewmaster] interpretation of a modern day honey mead through the medium of a beer.”

Click below for more info:

A Warrior's Drink

The flavor draws heavily from the blending of the rye malt and traditional clove character, creating a very rich and unique flavor, a bold beer suited for the harsh Klingon lifestyle.

Spiced Apple Brew

We found some of this today and it's insane.
A Halloween drink for sure.

Reed’s Spiced Apple Ginger Brew was our fifth creation, and is a Jamaican recipe for homemade ginger ale using 8 grams of fresh ginger root, apple and lemon juice, honey, herbs and spices. It is 50% fruit juice.

Hallowine

Semi-Sweet Apple Wine Spiced With Cinnamon And Nutmeg. 

From the Pattitudes blog.

 
 

Starr Hill Boxcar Pumpkin Porter

I think I found my personal favorite alcoholic pumpkin beverage.  Nothing overbearing or sickly sweet or forced.  A rich dark porter with hints of spice.  We had this with a giant meatball ricotta pizza last weekend and it was pure bliss.  I do believe I was buzzed by this guy when we wandered out of the restaurant and over to The Fresh Market and discovered the Pumpkin Cider...which made that discovery even better.  And louder.

Click below for information and locations:

Pumpkin Cider

Found something amazing at a Fresh Market supermarket (one of those supermarkets for rich people where you go to see what rich people might eat or drink)...Sparkling Pumpkin Cider.  

Made with pumpkin, apple juice, lemon, ginger, and spices, it's a pretty intense drink.  It's pure Halloween.  A natural spiced pumpkin flavor, not forced or overly-sweet.  All in a classy beautiful brown glass 33.8 oz bottle.
$4.99 each

Image source.

Pumpkin Cider

From Woodchuck...
Not bad.  VERY sweet.
I mix it with Zeigler's spiced apple cider and it's pretty noice.