Scary Movie-Inspired Cocktails

Recipe below!
Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s horror classic, this spin on the classic Swizzle uses Inniskillin Icewine to create a sweet and tart version of the famed drink. “I was inspired by the movie’s sweet and sour moments, as Mr. Bates seems to be a sweet charming man but is [actually] quite spooky and dangerous,” says Karin Stanley, mixologist and co-owner of New York cocktail lounge Dutch Kills.

Ingredients
2 oz. Inniskillin Riesling Icewine
1 oz. Appleton Estate Reserve Rum
¾ oz. pineapple juice

Combine all ingredients in a highball or rocks glass. Fill with crushed or cracked ice and top with a float of Angostura Bitters.

Recipe below!
Timmy Kitchens, mixologist at West Hollywood’s Rock amp Reilly found his muse in the film’s pivotal stabbing scene. “If only Robert and Damien had discussed their differences over this cocktail, maybe they would have both lived,” he jokes.

Ingredients
1½ oz. SVEDKA Cherry Vodka
¾ oz. cherry brandy
½ oz. Benedictine
½ oz. grapefruit juice
½ oz. lime juice
Soda water
Ice spear

Pour all ingredients (except for soda water) into a shaker filled with ice. Shake gently and strain into a chilled highball glass. Add a spear of ice. Top with soda water and garnish with fresh cherries.

Recipe below!
Jack Nicholson’s character in The Shining – a recovering alcoholic – would have been done in by this apple cinnamon-infused, whiskey-spiked cocktail that riffs on his descent into madness. “The dash of Sweet Vermouth and Bitters references the bittersweet ending,” says Alex Rodriguez, managing partner of the New York gastropub 121 Fulton Street, “when Jack freezes to death while his wife and child escape his murderous rampage.”

Ingredients
2 oz. Dickel Tennessee Whisky
1 oz. Sweet Vermouth
Dash of Bitters
Garnish with a cinnamon rim and cinnamon stick

Combine all ingredients in a shaker, then strain into a cocktail glass. Top with a cinnamon stick.

Recipe below!
“The cinnamon whiskey’s bite could make Leatherface cringe,” says Hayley Jensen, beer sommelier of N.Y.C.’s Taproom No. 307. That, combined with Campari and hard cider, leaves a “crisp, refreshing and memorable taste of its own” – one that’s sure to chill you to the bone!

Ingredients
1 oz. Fireball Cinnamon Whisky
1 oz. Campari
1 oz. cranberry juice
4 oz. Angry Orchard Crisp Apple hard cider

Pour ingredients over Ice. Stir. Garnish with stemmed maraschino cherry

Recipe below!
“The tea and rum combine to make a smoky and spicy profile reminiscent of the dark wood and forest environment in the movies,” says mixologist Deidre Darling of Chicago’s The Savoy. “The cocktail is further enhanced by the bitterness of the Fernet Branca. The garnish was inspired by the formation of dolls out of wooden sticks.”

Ingredients
1.5 oz. Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum infused with Forbidden Forest Lapsang Souchong Tea*
.5 oz Fernet Branca
2 full eye droppers of chocolate mole bitters
.5 oz. lemon juice
.5 oz. agave nectar
1 egg white

Build all ingredients into a shaker. Dry shake to emulsify egg white. Add ice and shake to chill. Strain and garnish with cinnamon sticks, cloves and tea leaves.
*To infuse Sailor Jerry Rum with tea, soak tea bags in rum. Let steep. Strain before use.

Recipe below!
“An adult trick-or-treat, this cocktail gives way to a refreshing, creamy blend of mint and licorice candy with a hint of cocoa,” says its creator Julia Hughes, head bartender at New York’s Louis649. “A delectable nightcap, its crisp, comforting finish will have you sipping away until evening gives way to night.”

Ingredients
1 oz. Molinari Sambuca
1 oz. green creme de menthe
1 oz. heavy cream

Combine in shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with shaved extra dark chocolate and a rosemary sprig.

Recipe below
“This cocktail is first sweet, then tart and then the heat from the chilies hits the back of your throat,” says Deidre Darling. “The cocktail evolves on your pallet like the voices evolve in George Lutz’s head.”

Ingredients
1.5 oz. Hendrick’s Gin
.75 oz. Quinta do Noval Black Port
.5 oz. Black Currant Perfect Puree*
.5 oz. lemon juice
.5 oz. agave nectar
2 slices finger chilies

Lightly muddle finger chilies in shaker. Add in remaining ingredients. Shake and strain. Garnish with chili slices.
*Puree can be purchased on Amazon.com

Recipe below!
In a cheeky nod to the 1978 John Carpenter-helmed horror movie, this cocktail “is a sweet way to take the edge off” this campy Halloween classic, says Alex Rodriguez, managing partner of the New York gastropub 121 Fulton Street.

Ingredients
1.5 oz. Belvedere Intense
Splash of orange juice
1 oz. Butterscotch schnapps
Garnish with candy corn

Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Top off with candy corn garnish.

Recipe below!
“Nightmare on Elm Street is one of my favorite horror films, says Colin Maxwell, the EMM Group’s head bartender. “I look forward to watching it every year at Halloween. I wanted people to look forward to this drink on our menu with that same level of excitement.”

Ingredients
2 oz. vanilla vodka
½ oz. pumpkin spice syrup (see recipe below)
¾ oz. lemon juice
½ oz. Bailey’s Irish Cream
¼ oz. Frangelico

Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Shake hard and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a dash of cinnamon.

For pumpkin spice syrup, blend the following ingredients until smooth:
1 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree
2 cups water
1½ cups sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ground dried ginger
½ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground cloves

Recipe below!
“The deep reds of the Campari and blood orange juice make this bubbly cocktail reminiscent of pig’s blood, but serve these sparklers at your Halloween party and your guests will have a lot more fun than Carrie did at prom!” says Katie Lee, author of the Comfort Table cookbooks.

Ingredients
2 oz. fresh blood orange juice
¼ to ½ cup sugar in a shallow dish (for rimming the glasses)
1 oz. Campari
Sparkling wine

Press a slice of juiced blood orange around the rim of a champagne glass. Press the top of the glass in the sugar to coat the rim. Combine the blood orange juice and Campari in the champagne glass. Top with sparkling wine.