After years of research, we’ve found that Halloween cocktail recipes are usually more of a trick than a treat, packing sugary sweetness that rivals a handful of candy corn. And don’t even get us started on the names…
But we still love the holiday and made it our mission to find some tasty concoctions that you might actually fix when you’re not in costume. So we asked a pair of talented New York mixologists to each create a balanced tipple inspired by their favorite candy.
When it comes to sweets, bar consultant and Liquor.com advisory board member Aisha Sharpe is old-school, favoring the intensely chocolaty Tootsie Roll. She reimagined the confection as a simple stirred drink (pictured above) calling for spicy rye whiskey, Pedro Ximenez sherry and a large dose of chocolate bitters.
If you’re finished carving pumpkins and are up for a project, try Jason Littrell’s Snicker Flip. The bar consultant at JBird Cocktails makes a nod to each element of a Snickers bar with this sophisticated elixir: There’s a splash of crème de cacao, a peanut-infused bourbon and a homemade caramel syrup spiked with spices.
No matter what you decide to serve, happy Halloween!
- .5 cup Granulated sugar
- .25 cup Packed light brown sugar
- 1.5 cups Heavy cream
- 1 Whole clove
- 5 Cardamom pods
- .25 tsp Fennel seeds
- .25 tsp Black peppercorns
- 2 (3-inch) Cinnamon sticks
- 3 tbsp Chopped toasted almonds or hazelnuts
PREPARATION:
Add the sugars to a heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook without stirring until the mixture is mostly melted. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the mixture turns a deep golden caramel color. Carefully pour in the cream (the mixture will bubble up) and add the remaining ingredients. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring, until the caramel is dissolved and the volume is reduced to about 1.5 cups, roughly 10 minutes. Strain into a large squeeze bottle and let cool completely. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
