Ghouls And Grinds

We hit up this spooky themed coffee shop last weekend during a road trip.  If I lived nearby, I'd be in there every morning.  We got their pumpkin pie latte and it was absolutely perfect.  Not too sweet, but loaded with a rich pumpkin pie spice flavor that was very different than the pumpkin spice that pops up every autumn in the usual shops.  I think I might have re-branded the drink as The Sleepy Hollow.  It was THAT good.

If you're ever in Hanover, PA, definitely seek this shop out.  I'd imagine Halloweens there are pretty rad.

J. Wakefield Brewing: Sleepy Hollow

The seasonal offerings of autumnal beer are always tricky.  I've mentioned in the past that my hopes are always high at the start of each Autumn...  high hopes that there will be a pumpkin ale that soars above the rest.  Something that isn't too sweet but has a distinct pumpkin flavor.  A beer that feels like pumpkin season.  I feel like I'm still on that quest - everything is just too sweet for me.  Thankfully there are folks like Pumpkin Ale Reviews' Sam Heimer and Fatherkrespi documenting this stuff each season.  

We stopped into a beer distributer over the weekend and got some nice stuff for Memorial Day.  While we were looking around, we saw something called Sleepy Hollow from the J. Wakefield Brewing Company.  The design was fun and the description was intriguing:  sour ale with blueberry, lemon, orange, lactose, and vanilla.  The color of the ale was berry-like.  The taste was a little shocking.  I love sour ales, and this dark drink was extremely sour.  Full of sweet and tart notes.  Felt very Halloween-night-ish (if that can be a descriptor).  Definitely something you share with someone, as it can be like eating too many Smarties (I mean that in a good way).

I think I dug the uniqueness of this one.  It's not pumpkin ale.  It's not the usual flavors of Autumn.  It's sour and sweet and strange.  So much so that I think I would call this one Witch's Brew and not Sleepy Hollow.

The Weeping Glass

Never visited this neat shop, but it appears to be the store featured in the old Friday the 13th tv series from the 80's...  The Weeping Glass is a true Oddities & Curiosities Shoppe.

I always wanted to work in this store...

They are in the process of moving to a new location, so I wanted to feature them as I brew some of their fine hot elixirs on this weird windy snowy day. 

Hope to visit the new location some day.

Click here for their online shop...

and

Click here for their Instagram account.

The Jolly Pumpkin

Based on the design alone, this would be my favorite place to grab a drink.

jollypumpkin.com

The Spice Hunter

Picked up the Buttered Rum mix from this company and love it. I've always heard about hot buttered rum, but never tried it. Was checking out their site this morning and saw this awesomeness:


SpiceHunter.com

Woodchuck

Woodchuck Draft Cider, Vermont’s premier hand-crafted hard cider, launches Woodchuck Fall Cider – the 2009 Fall Season Limited Release. The unique taste and aroma of Woodchuck, not found in any other hard cider, results from century old hand-crafting techniques… The 2009 Woodchuck Fall Cider begins with apples that are pressed to juice, fermented and then cold-filtered. Then master cider maker and creator of the original 1991 Woodchuck recipe, Greg Failing, performs his personal touch with an attractive bouquet of autumn spices starring cinnamon and nutmeg. Creation of this season’s limited release is completed while Failing balances out the taste with a hint of American white oak.


Thanks, Necrobones, for the heads-up. I can't wait to try this.

woodchuck.com

Halloween Wines

Some recommendations from a great blog on how to properly enjoy the alcoholic side of Halloween.


Bordeaux-Undiscovered blog.

Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary

I'm a big fan of the Bloody Mary and this recipe sounds pretty impressive.

I need that pitcher.

Recipe here.

Spiced Wines

The red spiced Holiday wine from the Brotherhood Winery was the variety I used in the beef stew recipe. I can't find the recipe online anywhere, but I'm thinking any slow cooker recipe for beef stew that calls for red wine can be used. Just use a cup of the holiday wine instead of the 1/2 cup that most recipes call for. And use sweet potatoes rather than regular ones - sweet and savory Halloween stew.

The white spiced wine from the Sandcastle Winery is the one I currently use for the hot spiced wine recipe. Here's an old blog entry with the recipe.

Williams-Sonoma Halloween

Can't mention Pottery Barn without mentioning Williams-Sonoma.

Entertaining.



Desserts.



Getting sloshed.

Whole Foods Market

Some good Halloween recipes (and a cheap excuse to post a photo of jacko oranges).


WholeFoodsMarket.com