The Smoke & Mirrors cocktail is a spooky addition to a Halloween party.
Shaun lewis
welcome to Clubhouse eats, where we celebrate the most delicious food and drink in the game. Hope you’ve brought your appetites.
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Happy Halloween!
I love this time of year for so many reasons. Freshness in the air. The kaleidoscopic foliage around the golf courses. Costume parties.
And of course the cocktails.
When the temperatures drop, I tend to lean towards darker spirits and red wine. Here are three of my favorite seasonal cocktails, using these heartwarming ingredients as a base.
Mulled wine punch
Inspired by the German mulled wine known as Glühwein, this Christmas classic is appropriate as soon as the first oak leaf hits the ground. The spices add a pleasant touch while the cognac offers a welcome punch.
Ingredients:
1 bottle of red wine, preferably full-bodied, such as Syrah or Cabernet Sauvignon
4 ounces of brandy
3 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon of coriander seeds
5 cloves
1 black cardamom pod
1 nut of ginger, about an inch long
The zest of 1 orange.
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon of pink berries
When the temperatures drop, make sure you have something hot (and alcoholic) to sip on
Michel Corcoran
Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan except for the brandy. Warm up slowly, never let the liquid simmer. With a candy thermometer, keep the temperature below 170 degrees for 20 minutes. Pass through a cheese cloth and add the cognac.
Serve hot and garnish with a cinnamon stick.
For an extra touch, light the cinnamon stick on the heat and blow out before serving.
Spicy Cider
Ingredients:
8 ounces of bourbon
16 ounces of cider
2 cinnamon sticks
5 cloves
1 tablespoon of chilli berries
2 ounces of Demerara simple syrup
8 ounces of milk heated to a froth
Grated fresh nutmeg and cinnamon
Here’s how to treat your guests to a sophisticated cocktail this holiday season
Michel Corcoran
Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan except for the bourbon. Warm up slowly, never simmering. With a candy thermometer, hold below 170 degrees for 20 minutes. Pass through cheesecloth and add the Bourbon. Serve hot.
Topped with frothed milk foam or whipped cream. Garnish with grated nutmeg and cinnamon.
Smoke & Mirrors
It sounds like a haunted house’s signature drink, but don’t be afraid of the name or the use of activated charcoal, which isn’t a hard ingredient to find or use.
Ingredients:
2 ounces of Mezcal
1/4 ounce of milk punch
ounce of lemon juice,
½ ounce of agave syrup
1/2 teaspoon of activated charcoal
Combine all the ingredients and shake well with ice. Filter into a highball glass fitted with a large ice cube.
Rim salt
2 tablespoons of black lava sea salt
1 tablespoon of ground sage
Spread agave on the rim of your highball glass and roll in the seasoned salt mixture. Don’t hesitate to omit the charcoal powder, although it gives a unique aesthetic and may even whiten your teeth!
Cheers.
