it isn't spooky season without a halloween cocktail...
I love a good cocktail, but I do love a seasonal cocktail even more. If you’re feeling spooky this Halloweekend, this is the perfect drink for you. Made like a classic old fashioned with good bourbon and bitters, the seasonal twist comes from the brown sugar simple syrup, pumpkin puree, and mix of autumnal spices.
If you’re a bourbon lover, this is the drink for you. It has that charred barrel flavor, while the pumpkin and spices feel like a pumpkin pie without being overly sweet. The brown sugar simple syrup is a nice riff off regular simple syrup, and it’s so good and flavorful, I might be making my syrups solely with brown sugar from now on. Now it’s time to sit back, relax, and get your spooky on. Cheers!
⟶ the recipe
spooky pumpkin old-fashioned
ingredients
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Ice cubes
4 ounces bourbon
2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
2-3 dashes of bitters
Rosemary for garnish
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
5 minutes
Total time
15 minutes
Makes 2 cocktails
instructions
Place brown sugar and water in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce, and simmer for about 5 minutes, or until sugar has dissolved and syrup has thickened a bit. Set aside to cool.
Mix together allspice, cinnamon, and cloves in a small dish.
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, and add the bourbon and pumpkin puree. Measure out 1 ounce of the brown sugar syrup, and add to the shaker.
Add the spice mixture and the bitters, and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass or whisky tumbler, and add a large ice cube. Garnish with fresh or dried orange peel, a sprig of rosemary, and a dusting of cinnamon.
⟶ make it a mocktail
- Swap the bourbon for apple cider and add a teaspoon of vanilla extract
⟶ make it a pitcher
- Hosting a Halloween party? Make this drink a pitcher by quadrupling the recipe above. Fill a pitcher or a punch bowl with ice, shake the ingredients in batches, and then stir the strained cocktail into the pitcher
⟶ modifications
- Instead of the brown sugar syrup, you can also use maple syrup or honey. And you can also always use plain simple syrup if you wish
