Twisted halloween cocktails

by Ed Biado

I’ll admit that my taste in cocktails is quite vanilla. Just give me glass after glass of Bacardi Coke and I’m all set for the night. But there are thousands of concoctions out there and one of the biggest party excuses, Halloween, gets its fair share. Given the spooky theme, the names of these—shall I call them—poisons are just as interestingly creepy. But don’t worry, they taste divine. Screw Bloody Mary (hah!); here are 10 “disgusting” mixes you can suck dry:

1. Voodoo Caesar

Rim a tall glass with lime juice and seasoning salt. Fill it with ice, add the following ingredients and stir.

6 oz. tomato juice

2 tsp. lime juice

1/8 tsp. Tabasco hot sauce

1 oz. vodka

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2. Bayou Slime

Muddle 6 fresh mint leaves and 2 oz. spiced syrup together. Place that, together with the following ingredients into a shaker.

4 oz. dark rum

1 egg white

Shake until well-chilled and frothy. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with additional crushed mint leaves.

3. Coffee of the Damned

Add all the following ingredients in a large mug.

1/2 oz. tequila

1 oz. brandy

1 oz. scotch

1 tbsp. sugar syrup

Then, stir in a cup of coffee and float some lemon zest on top. Add a topping of whip.

4. Halloween Cocktail

Mix the following ingredients in a shaker with ice.

2 oz. bourbon

3 oz. orange juice

juice of half a lemon

Then, pour into a tall glass. Top with ginger ale and garnish with olives.

5. White Witch

Mix all ingredients in a blender at low speed for 10 seconds. Serve in a chilled sherbet or wine glass.

1/2 cup vanilla ice cream

1 oz. vodka

1 oz. white crème de cacao

6. Black Witch

Mix all ingredients with ice in a shaker and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

1/2 oz. pineapple juice

1 1/2 oz. gold rum

1 tsp. apricot brandy

1 tsp. dark rum

7. Blood-red Lime Rickey

Muddle the following ingredients in a shaker until juicy and fragrant.

6 fresh cherries, pitted

1/2 lime, cut into 3 wedges

2 teaspoons sugar

Add 3 oz. gin and crushed ice. Cover with a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously, or stir, until combined and chilled, about 30 seconds. Serve in a whiskey glass.

8. Blood & Sand

Mix all ingredients with cracked ice in a shaker or blender. Pour into a chilled old fashioned glass.

3/4 oz. cherry brandy

3/4 oz. orange juice

3/4 oz. scotch

3/4 oz. sweet vermouth

9. Brain

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add all the ingredients. Stir until well chilled and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a fresh lychee fruit.

1/2 oz. sake chilled

1 1/2 oz. lychee nectar

1 1/2 oz. gin

10. Devil’s Tail

Mix all ingredients with ice in a blender. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist lime peel over drink and drop into glass.

1/2 oz. apricot liqueur

1/2 tsp. grenadine

1/2 oz. lime juice

1/2 oz. vodka

1 1/2 oz. gold rum

What's your martini?

by Ed Biado
The martini is one of the most widely-recognized cocktails in the world. In pop culture, it is a symbol of discriminating taste as many historical figures and fictional characters are known to prefer it to the point of making it their signature drink. And why wouldn’t one enjoy a martini? It’s crisp, clear, has an infusion of bright flavors and notes and it comes in over 40 variations (and counting). Here are the most popular kinds:
1. The classic standard martini is made with gin and dry vermouth in a four is to one ratio and is stirred with ice. After straining it in a chilled martini glass, it’s garnished with an olive or lemon peel. This produces a clear, colorless cocktail. The shaken version is slightly cloudy and the gin being “bruised,” producing a more bitter taste.
2. The vodka martini obviously substitutes gin for vodka. It is one of today’s most popular martini preparations and it’s almost assumed that when one orders a martini, it’s made with vodka.
3. The dirty martini puts the garnish to the forefront as it uses olive brine together with dry vermouth or omitting the latter altogether. The essence is further heightened by using three olives (instead of one) as garnish. A dusty martini, meanwhile, only adds a small amount of brine, simply to bring out a hint of the essence.
4. The Dirty Pickle substitutes olive brine in the dirty martini with pickle juice. This is garnished either with a mini gherkin or a dill spear.
5. The smoky martini is simply gin with a splash of Scotch, stirred and garnished with lemon peel. It is also called burnt martini.
6. The dry martini uses less dry vermouth than usual. Extra dry would mean even less. It’s virtually all gin with just a few drops of dry vermouth. The standard dry martini has different names, depending on the garnish—Okratini (pickled okra), Buckeye (black olive), Gibson (pickled onion), Gibsontini (onion-stuffed olive) and Spiceland (garlic-stuffed olive).
7. The Vesper is a James Bond invention. According to the pages of Casino Royale, it contains three measures of Gordon’s gin, one of vodka and half a measure of the French aperitif wine, Kina Lillet. It’s garnished with a slice of lemon peel and served in a champagne flute.
8. The Bronx is a fruity martini that was once ranked third in the world, in terms of popularity (after the standard martini and the Manhattan). This is a shaken cocktail that contains six parts gin, three parts sweet red vermouth, two parts dry vermouth and three parts orange juice.
9. The Kinopanorama martini is made with four parts London gin, two parts vodka and half a part each of Noilly Prat vermouth and Lillet Blanc. It’s shaken and garnished with a twist of lemon.
10. The Valencia martini uses Fino sherry instead of dry vermouth. Before pouring, orange peel is flamed in order for its oil to drop into and coat the martini glass. It’s garnished with an unburned orange peel. The vodka variant is called the Flame of Love martini.