“Black As Night, Erase Death From Our Sight” : A Dark and Unnatural cocktail for Halloween10/30/2020  I did it guys! In between distance learning and attempting to keep my house spotless for prospective buyers, even though all of my glassware is boxed up and long gone (along with most of my other possessions) I made a little magic of my own happen. One final Halloween cocktail, the last of my Practical Magic series. This one is inspired by the resurrection spell, and we all know that never ends well. Hopefully, this cocktail is a little more successful, and less like to possess you… Despite this post being inspired by something dark and unnatural I decided to included one of my favorite quotes from the movie. “But there are somethings I know for certain: always throw spilt salt over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for luck, and fall in love whenever you can. Since this cocktail was inspired by the resurrection spell used in the movie, I literally interpreted “Black as night” as the darkest of liquors I could find, Mr. Black coffee liqueur and Kraken Black spiced rum. I added some cardamom bitters to help bring out the spices, and it goes very well with the sparkling grapefruit. If you’ve seen the movie then you know that the canned whipped cream is an internal part of this scene, and I had to incorporate it. It gives a slight creaminess and some fun foam to the drink, but feel free to leave it out.  Dark and Unnatural
1 1/2 oz. Mr. Black coffee liqueur 1 1/2 oz. Kraken Black spiced rum 1 dropper Scrappy’s Bitters Cardamom bitters (gifted) top with Fever-Tree Sparkling Pink Grapefruit Dollop of whipped topping Combine the Mr. Black, rum and bitters in a mixing glass with ice and still until chilled. Pour into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Add a dollop of whipped topping (in the shape of a star if you must) and then top with sparkling grapefruit. Cheers!
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 Ok, so it’s the Wednesday before Halloween, but what even is time any more? It’s the season of the witch here at True Love + Coffee. The perfect end to my Practical Magic series, and an echo of the film, I had to do it. There was a time when I wasn't sure that anything was going to happen for Halloween this year, but I'm so glad that I didn't just let it pass by. I intended to find a spooky classic cocktail to work with the Halloween theme, but then I came across the Amaretto Sour. It was perfect, and I had all of the ingredients, lol. This is one of the more frightening cocktails as far as I’m concerned. Syrupy and super sweet, this cocktail can be a real nightmare. I like to increase the Bourbon, decrease the amaretto, and do away with any additional simple syrups at all. I”m a good witch, you’ll see… Happy Halloween!  Amaretto Sour
1 1/4 oz. Amaretto liqueur 1 oz. Barrel-strength Bourbon 1 oz. lemon juice 1 egg white 2 Bourbon cherries Combine all ingredients, minus the cherries, in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, and then strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with cherries. Cheers!  This week my Practical Magic cocktail is inspired by the Amas Veritas love spell performed in the movie. Since the spell is based in botanicals I added some floral notes to the fall spices and flavors of this sangria. Ingredients like allspice for success in love, cinnamon for good luck, orange peel for happiness, and cloves for protection are all bound with honey. Just like a real love spell this sangria won’t bring you true love, but I’m going to recommend using it to fall more in love with yourself… it is a pandemic after all. “Summoning up a true love spell called Amas Veritas. He can flip pancakes in the air. He'll be marvelously kind. And his favorite shape will be a star. And he'll have one green eye and one blue.” -Practical Magic Instead of a mulled wine I chose a lighter Pinto Noir with notes of dark fruit and spices. I brought mulling spices in a more subtle way by infusing some Cognac, and added some honey vodka for sweetness. Unfiltered apple juice is the base for this sangria and a touch of rose water adds a floral note and just a touch of magic.  Amas Veritas Sangria
1 (750ml) bottle Picchetti Pinto Noir (for passion) 1/2 cup mulled spice infused Remy Martin Cognac 1/2 cup Hangar 1 Honey vodka (for binding) 2 cups unfiltered apple juice (for wisdom) 3 tsp. Rose water (for security) Dark fruits Mix the wine, liquor, juice, rose water and cut up dark fruits and allow to sit in the fridge for a few hours - up to a day. If looking for an extra bit of magic, serve in glassware of your choice, float any high-proof alcohol on top. Responsibly, set the alcohol on fire and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cheers!  Welcome to my first Practical Magic inspired cocktail! It’s Midnight Margaritas! I know, its been done, but I hope you’ll understand why I had to. Since we don’t exactly know what Aunt Jet and Aunt Frances put in their Midnight Margaritas, I took some liberties. I’m pretty sure they didn’t actually put mustard seeds, holly leaves, or hounds tongue into the mix, even though those are more common names for the first three ingredients listed in the chant they do. I’m pretty sure we can assume this a standard blended lime margarita, which is magic all on its own. “Eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog. Adder’s Fork and blindworm’s sting… Barbados lime is just the thing. Cragged salt like a sailor’s stubble! Flip the switch and let the cauldron bubble! ” -Practical Magic I used a traditional lime margarita, like they drink in the movie, as a base. I took the ingredients that I could identify; lime, tequila and salt, and then I added a few seasonally inspired ingredients of my own. I included sage for clarity and wisdom, and wormwood for ridding evil spirits. I’m not sure what magical properties limes and tequila have, other than the obvious, and the already added salt offers luck and protection. It’s rather unlikely that your tequila has been provided by an evil spirit, but you can never be too careful.  Midnight margarita
2 oz. white tequila 1/2 oz. sage simple syrup (for clarity and wisdom) 1/2 oz. absinthe (for ridding evil spirits) 1 oz. lime juice 2 drops saline (luck and protection) Combine all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker, and shake until chilled. Pour into a Margarita glass over ice while reciting the above chant, disregard the last line because this one is on the rocks! Cheers!  Ok, so I’ve been listening to way too much My Favorite Murder during lock down, but I swear its keeping me sane… and out of the forest. I can’t actually tell you how excited I am that it’s October! While I’m still not sure what we’re going to do about Trick’or’treating, and I can’t decorate my house because we’re putting it on the market today! Halloween is my favorite holiday season, and I am here for it! So many exclamation marks, I am sorry. In other news, Highclere Castle Gin asked me to develop a fall cocktail, and take some pics for them. And, even though they didn’t ask me to write this blog post I am, because they make one of my favorite gins and I’m gonna tell you that for free. This cocktail is so good. Its a riff on a Corpse Reviver #2, using some seasonal flavors like spiced pear and Benedictine. I don’t know why I feel that Benedictine is a colder weather liqueur, it just is. I added an egg white and some Angostura bitters as well. It’s the perfect fall cocktail, if I do say so myself, creamy and a little crisp with some warming spice notes. Smooth enough to perk you up after a hard night of drinking or perfect for enjoying after a walk through some fall foliage. I can’t drink 'hard' anymore, and its 100 degrees here in California, but I can dream…  Autumnal Reviver
3/4 oz. Highclere Castle Gin *gifted* 3/4 oz. St. George Spirits Spiced Pear Liqueur 3/4 oz. DOM Benedictine liqueur 3/4 oz. lemon juice Egg white Angostura bitters Combine all ingredients, except bitters, in a shaker. Dry shake, then add 2-3 small ice cubes and shake until dissolved. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and let foam settle, garnish with bitters in a leaf design. Cheers! |