Hi. I’m Kate, and my particular little brand of happy hour includes fresh, garden-grown cocktails enjoyed in the company of my ridiculous chickens. Why, you ask? And also…WHUT? I know. It’s a lot to process. You can find more over at Drinking with Chickens, but in the meantime, here’s a little something that I whipped up and tucked into Jojotastic’s cocktail portfolio while she wasn’t looking:
It’s definitely about time for some moody cocktails, wouldn’t you agree? But nothing over the top; let’s do subtle spooky. No activated charcoal making drinks that are dark enough to suck all the light and joy from the room (we’re not doing that anymore, guys, cuz activated charcoal is legit dangerous), no candy eyeball garnish, no monster slime shooters…but maybe just a tiny, tiny pea-sized little nugget of dry ice that we’ll watch boil and bubble fully until it disappears and THEN drink our moody AF drink. GOTTA LET ME HAVE A LITTLE HALLOWEEN, MMMKAY? So, let’s talk about this smoke and bramble cocktail recipe.
Also, I’m going to stick a chicken in a few photos because it’s just what I do. Don’t fight it.
I wanted this smoke and bramble cocktail recipe to be smoky in vibez, AND on the palate, as well. And it isn’t only because I intended to do a little hit of dry ice in it for Halloween-y effect, but mainly because I’m just really feeling mezcal at the moment. I wasn’t always. In fact, I think I was inordinately slow at coming around to mezcal, dare I say: resistant. Whenever a spirit (or anything) becomes the “IT” thing, I dig in my heels and resist. It’s a thing I do AND I AM CHARMING AS HELL, OK?! But mezcal wore me down with its earthy, smoldering magnetism, and I really started to love it when it was folded neatly into a nice, complex little cocktail.
But also? This moody beverage needed to be dark in tone. So we pulled in some spiced black tea, dark rum (YES, RUM AND MEZCAL. DON’T TELL ME MY BUSINESS), and blackberry liqueur so we get that certain smoky-sweet thing happening. I love me some smoky-sweet; it’s such a zesty little combo that it knocks a few icicles off of my cold, dead heart. Have I mentioned how perfect this smoke and bramble cocktail is?!
Smoke and Bramble Cocktail Recipe
Equipment
- a pea-sized chunk of dry ice (NOT FOR CONSUMPTION)
- coupe glass
- garnish skewer
Ingredients
BLACK SPICED TEA
- 2 black tea bags
- 8 oz boiling water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves
INGREDIENTS
- 1.5 oz mezcal
- 1.5 oz black spiced tea (see instructions below)
- .5 oz dark spiced rum
- .5 oz blackberry liqueur
- .5 oz fresh lime juice
- 3 fresh blackberries to muddle
- 1 fresh blackberry for garnish
Instructions
SPICED BLACK TEA:
- Steep two plain black tea bags in 8 oz. of boiling water, along with one cinnamon stick and 4 cloves. Steep until tea is good and dark, about a half hour, then strain and refrigerate.
DIRECTIONS:
- In the bottom of a cocktail shaker, muddle three blackberries. Add ice. Combine all ingredients except garnish and dry ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake until chilled. Strain contents into a chilled coupe glass, garnish with a skewered fresh blackberry. Using tongs and wearing gloves, break a small chip of dry ice and carefully place it in your cocktail for presentation. Wait until dry ice chip is completely disintegrated, or use tongs to remove remnants before consuming beverage. Please be safe with dry ice: it is meant for spooky Halloween effect only, and ABSOLUTELY NOT for consumption.
Nutrition
You know what? I’m feeling remorseful that I hated on candy eyeball garnish. I really actually like candy eyeballs this time of year. Also… I drink with my chickens and need to shut the hell up.
So, what do you think of our spooky (yet grown-up) cocktail recipe? We hope you enjoy it!! Let us know what you think in the comment section!
Looking for more fall inspired cocktail recipes? Try out these:
- Tamarind Apple Cider Fall Margarita Recipe
- Spiced Rye and Jam Cocktail Recipe
- Spiced Mezcal Apple Cider Cocktail
- Aromatic Chai Hot Toddy
