Silly/Sophisticated Halloween Cocktails
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 9:44AM | Jen @ SecondCitySoiree Halloween certainly brings out the creative mixologist in a lot of people, including me. What is it about this holiday that drives grown adults to concoct sticky sweet or grossly visual cocktails? Some people think it's fun, others are above that sort of thing.
I guess I'm somewhere between the two schools of thought. So for the similarly indecisive, here are two cocktails for you to try...
Pulp-free Orange Juice
Black Vodka
Cherries, pitted
Cream Cheese
Fill a glass halfway with OJ. Pour black vodka over the back of a spoon so it runs down the side of the glass, rather than plunging into the juice and mixing right away.
For the "eyes" use pitted cherries stuffed with cream cheese. Cut up one cherry into tiny little pieces, and use those pieces as the pupils. Pierce the completed eyes over wooden toothpicks and place on the rim of the glass.
This recipe originally called for olives in place of cherries. I thought olives and orange juice were an odd combination, and a reader suggested cherries.
Sophisticated: Satan's Whiskers (from thenibble.com)
This classic cocktail was first poured in the 1920s. Apparently "Satan's Whiskers!" was a common expletive at the time. (As in, "Satan's Whiskers! I can't find the car's start crank!")
1½ shots gin
1 shot sweet vermouth
1 shot fresh orange juice
1 bar spoon of Cointreau or other orange liqueur
Dash of orange bitters
Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with an orange twist (the whisker). If you have lychees, drop one on the bottom of the glass (Satan's eyeball)
...guessing the lychee was not in the 1920s version
8 Comments | in drinks 
Reader Comments (8)
Yum! I don't think I've ever seen black vodka. Fun drinks. I love a Lychee martini so I'll be sure to try this drink too. Thanks for the great and ghoulish spirits bbbwwaaaaaaahhhhh! (<bellowed like Dracula)
Black vodka is a newer trend. A big liquor store that sells a good variety of specialty spirits would most likely have it.
Maybe cherries instead of olives and cream cheese frosting instead of plain cream cheese?
Of course! Why didn't I think of that! :)
I'm glad that monosyllabic profanity has taken the place of phrases like "satan's whiskers"!
I love the look of the goblins...and the cherry idea is great!
Blackberries halved with a squeeze of cream cheese fruit dip and a snipping of the blackberry in the center would work dandy.
Those should be Goblin Screwdrivers. Mimosas are made with champagne. :)
Indeed. I'm well acquainted with both, and clearly I must have had more than one (of either) when writing this. Thanks for the correction!