Halloween (1978): A Pumpkin Bourbon Cocktail

First and foremost, Happy Halloween. Grab your costumes, your candy, and your brooms. Let us celebrate today for all its worth.

Very nearly 50 years ago, John Carpenter changed the world. Armed with a William Shatner mask, the daughter of the original scream queen, and not nearly enough pumpkins, John gave us something that we will all be forever grateful for: The Babysitter Murders. Oh. Wait. Sorry. That was the name until a producer suggested making this movie revolve around a holiday.

Halloween: A perfect movie and one of the highest grossing independent films of all time. What more needs to be said?

Since the late ’70s, Michael Myers has been stalking and killing people at an endlessly rapid pace. With the latest addition to the franchise, Halloween Ends, we may have finally seen the end of Halloween. Oh, who am I kidding? Give it a few years. Someone else is going to don the iconic white mask and chase some young folk around, poking them with kitchen utensils.

Even though this article is specifically discussing the film Halloween, I created this cocktail to pay homage to the Halloween season in all aspects. The tastes, smells, and nostalgic feelings linked to this holiday. This time of year has always brought me an unbelievable amount of comfort. Fall spices, bonfires, horror movies, haunted houses. I want everything that brings me closer to that “fall feeling.” 

Halloween Pumpkin Bourbon Cocktail

Ingredients

• 2 oz Browned-Butter–Washed Bourbon †

• 0.5 oz Pumpkin Syrup ‡

• 3 Dashes of Angostura Bitters

• Laphroaig (Or any other Peated Scotch)

• Orange Peel

How to Make Browned-Butter–Washed Bourbon

† How does one make browned-butter–washed bourbon? Fat washing is quite a simple process, really. First and foremost, you need to brown butter. It may be easiest if you go watch a video on this process, but the short version is that you take butter, put it in a sauté pan, and continually stir the butter until the milk solids have separated and slightly browned. In a container with a sealable lid, add 6 oz. of your bourbon of choice. Pour 1 tablespoon of browned butter in with the bourbon. Close the container and shake well. Put the mixture into your refrigerator until the butter has solidified. Strain the solid butter from the bourbon.

How to Make Pumpkin Syrup

‡ In a pot, combine 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of water, a heaping tablespoon of pumpkin puree, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, a teaspoon of maple syrup, a teaspoon and a half of ground cinnamon, and around one tablespoon of a pumpkin spice blend. Alternatively, to the pumpkin spice blend, you can add a teaspoon of ground allspice and ground nutmeg.

Build the Cocktail

In a mixing glass, combine browned-butter–washed bourbon, pumpkin syrup, and Angostura bitters. Stir over ice. Strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass. Float a bar spoon of Laphroaig, or any other peated Scotch, across the top. Garnish with an orange peel cut to look like a carved pumpkin.

Tasting Notes

I haven’t done tasting notes for the rest of these drinks, but this one is too wonderful not to. This drink is meant to taste like a fresh, buttery pumpkin loaf being eaten next to a cozy bonfire. You get all of the warm fall spices, the buttery flavors from the washed whiskey, and the peated Scotch is there as an aromatic to add the campfire smell that will hopefully transport you to your favorite campsite.

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Article by Noah Welter

Noah J. Welter is a Pittsburgh based bartender and film artist. His cocktail creations have been featured throughout the world in a multitude of bars and immersive events. Noah takes a distinctly unique approach to the creation of his cocktails by combining his love for film and cocktail culture, historically linking them together. To find more of his work, drink and otherwise, you can visit www.noahjwelter.com.

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