Spiced Tea Holiday Punch

3 cups water
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbs. vanilla extract
10 whole cloves
10 cardamom seeds
2 tbs. ginger
2 tea bags (black tea)
1 bottle red wine
1/4 cup dark rum
Boil water, honey, sugar, spices and vanilla in a large saucepan, stirring frequently until honey and sugar are dissolved.

Remove from heat and add tea bag, steeping for five minutes. Strain it into a bowl and add wine and rum.

Can be served hot or cold. If serving it hot, simmer mixture until warm again. If serving cold, chill mixture in refrigerator then serve over ice. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

more Holiday Drinks & Punches

Anchor is known for using traditional distilling styles that differ from what’s in the mainstream now. In this case making a 17th-century-style of Dutch gin with a grain mash with juniper in a copper still rather than employing the now-popular 19th century redistilling method that produces a more neutral spirit we call London dry gin.

It’s appropriate that I tried Genevieve Gin at Whiskyfest, since it is more like a juniper whiskey than the smooth and bright gins you’ll find in martini glasses around the nation. It has a very strong juniper nose to be sure. However, it has more of a thick whiskey mouthfeel and a hot kick not usually associated with gin.

So this one isn’t for gin and tonics or a martini. But it is great for mixed drinks.

Here’s a particularly good one to try:

The Gin Fix

2 oz Genever gin
1/4 oz. lemon juice
1 tsp. simple syrup
1 tsp. raspberry syrup

Fill a glass with crushed ice and build the drink over the ice, stirring thoroughly. Top off with more ice and garnish with raspberries.

Anchor Distilling Genevieve Gin

There’s a shortage of angostura bitters.

Patrick Sepe, chief executive of the US distributor, Angostura USA, said the production line ran dry in June and was only just getting back on track. “There has been a shortage,” said Sepe. “You can’t just turn on and off supply of bitters. It’s not like producing bottled water – it’s a very delicate, intricate process.”

Guardian UK- bitters shortage article

At 17 proof it is tame enough to enjoy all night.

Straight up or over ice, Kahlua Coffee Cream makes a mighty fine after dinner drink. It goes great over vanilla ice cream too!

On the more serious side, it is mighty fine when mixed with vodka, I will refer to as the Black & White Russian. New York based Mixologist, Julio De Los Santos created a few cocktails to enjoy with Kahlua Coffee Cream.

Kahlua Cognaccino

1 part Kahlua Coffee Cream
1/2 part Amaretto
1 part Martell V.S. Cognac
Combine all ingredients into cocktail shaker. Shake and strain into
a flute dusted with nutmeg.

Kahlua Mexicano

1 part Kahlua Coffee Cream
1 part Kahlua Coffee Liqueur
1/2 part Sambuca
Combine all ingredients into cocktail shaker. Serve over ice in a
coffee mug.

Kahlua Coffee Cream will be available nationwide October through December for a suggested retail price of $17.99

Kahlua Coffee Cream

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Texan Hot Chocolate

1 oz Tito’s Handmade Vodka
1/2 oz Paula’s Texas Orange Liqueur
1/3 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2-1 teaspoon Sugar to taste
8 oz Whole Milk
Marshmallows
A Fresh Orange

Combine Paula’s Texas Orange, chocolate chips, sugar and milk in a pot and bring to a slow boil over low-medium heat as to not burn the Milk. Remove from heat and add Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Pour into favorite coffee/cocoa/tea mug and top with marshmallows. Garnish with an orange twist and shaved/grated chocolate

Created by Russell Davis, Peche
Recipe & photo courtesy Tito’s Handmade Vodka
more Drink of the Week cocktails

What challenges lie ahead?

The Wheel:
Reflexes floundering after a few too many? Sit back and let The Wheel decide your fate. Place your marks and watch as the monkey and his martini shaker decide Who’s Buying…and who still has his clams.

Multiball:
Up to four players can jump in this Polynesian-themed game of ping-pong. The first to let a flaming ball in their goal will find their totem in the woodchipper and their wallet empty.

Bounce Back:
Take control of a tiki and blow your coconut into your opponent’s goal in this Hawaiian-style air hockey game. Who’s Buying? Well, that would be the first person to swallow.

I’m  not sure I need this app, since my rule of thumb is you’re paying.

Who’s Buying (via Liquor Snob)

Along with 101 Halloween Cocktails and Punches we’ve assembled some handy links for your ghoulish enjoyment.

- From Serious Eats a Halloween recipe collection of Ghostly Goodies and Devilish Dinners.
- 10 Horror Films You Can Watch For Free Online This Halloween - Mashable.com
- Halloween Costumes 2009: 15 Funny Ideas
- For the coolest in pumpkin designs - ExtremePumpkins.com
- Our guide to Pumpkin Liqueurs
- Quick last minute costume ideas from Halloween.com
- A killer Halloween drinking game

Be safe, respect others, have fun!

Happy Halloween

Dessert
Halloween Cake Balls

Brain Cupcakes

Caramel Apples

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Light appetizers
Screaming Hot Peanuts

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Chipotle Deviled Eggs

Eyeball Caprese 

Savory Pumpkin Puffs

Heavy Appetizers/Main Course
Pumpkin Stuffed with Bread and Cheese

Pumpkin Gratin

Pumpkin Curry

Halloween cocktail and punch recipes

Related articles

• Oh Nom Nom Nom: Cupcakes for Zombies (geeksaresexy.net)
• Halloween Costumes 2009: 15 Funny Ideas! (PHOTOS) (huffingtonpost.com)
• Ghoulish goodies for a grown-up Halloween (nationalpost.com)
• How to Create a Fog Effect for Your Halloween Punch (drinkoftheweek.com)
• Pumpkin Caipirinha (drinkoftheweek.com)

Domaine de Canton Apple Bob

1 oz. Domaine de Canton
1 oz. Reposado Tequila
1 oz. green apple puree
1/4 oz. Cointreau
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice

Rim a cocktail glass with cinnamon sugar. Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into the cocktail glass. Garnish with an apple slice.

more Halloween Cocktails and Punches
Recipe & photo courtesy Domaine de Canton

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• Jack-o-Lantern Punch
• Berry Scary Sour
• Spirted Punch

Halloween means one thing, OK, maybe more that one thing, but one is certainly - Candy! And what is the most popular? Candy Corn.

Invented in the 1880s at the Wunderle Candy Company, candy corn os meant to mimic a whole kernel of corn. Today candy companies produce nearly 35 million pounds of the corn candy each year.

How big is candy corn? So big it needs it’s own day, so as not compete with Halloween. So Candy Corn Day is October 30!

So spot on, one sip of this cocktail might make you forget you aren’t actually eating candy corn…

Candy Corn

1 1/2 oz. Kettle Corn-infused Bombay Sapphire Gin*
1/2 oz. Moscato wine (sweet dessert wine)
3/4 oz. home-made citrus peel grenadine syrup**

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake very well.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish: 3 candy corns

*to make Kettle Corn-infused Bombay Sapphire: for every 750ml bottle of Bombay Sapphire, add in 1 cup kettle corn and allow to infused in an airtight container for approx. 24 hrs.  Fine strain kettle corn and re-bottle.  Store in fridge.

**to make grenadine syrup: for every 1 cup of POM wonderful pomegranate juice, dissolve 1 cup granulated sugar over stove top.  Once dissolved, add in the skins of 1 orange and 1 lemon and simmer for 10 mins.  Remove skins and chill syrup.

more Halloween Cocktails and Punches
Recipe created by Jonathan Pogash, Cocktail Guru
Recipe & photo courtesy Bombay Sapphire Gin

Related articles

• Halloween Cocktails from Skyy Infusions (drinkoftheweek.com)
• Spider’s Kiss (drinkoftheweek.com)
• Vampire Ritual (drinkoftheweek.com)