A wicked good time.
Happy Friday, folks! Giving you a fun one today with this flamin’ Wicked Pumpkin cocktail, a spicy autumnal bourbon sour dressed up in its Halloween best.
I don’t much observe Halloween but for some reason I’m really digging the festivities, probably because my brain is overactive with styling ideas that I want to see come to life. I also bought a witch hat recently and kinda want an excuse to wear it in the kitchen whilst I prep a spooky little treat.
Ya’ll know, then, what I’ll be dressing up as for Halloween. I do a pretty mean witch laugh, too.
Our drink today combines sweet pumpkin butter and cider with a touch of citrus and a splash of homemade hot honey for an eerily delightful kick. Serve it in your favorite themed cocktail glass and finish each with a fiery rosemary sprig. Or a regular one, if you fear you’ll accidently ignite your hair or some shit.
This Herb Is On Fire!
Before we get to that, let’s mix up our drink.
First, prep a batch of hot honey. I usually add garlic and onion powder to my blend but omitted such for the sake of this drink, since you probably don’t want garlic breath from drinking a cocktail.
So, all you need to do is microwave honey with hot sauce, cayenne pepper, and red pepper flakes, for about 1 minute in a heatproof glass. Stir and you’ve got a nice batch of hot honey. Poof! Magic!
Grab your shaker and toss in a splash of hot honey, lemon juice, apple cider, pumpkin butter, and a large egg white. I use Trader Joes’ for the latter. Shake dry – meaning no ice – for 30 seconds or so. This allows the egg white to foam up as it reacts to the lemon juice’s acidity.
Tip: Raw egg white gives you the heeby jeebies? You can omit it, but your drink won’t have a froth layer. Or, you can use a tablespoon of aquafaba (chickpea brine). I’ve never tried this myself but people say it works very well!
After your dry shake, pop off your lid and add the bourbon and a handful of ice. Seal and shake another 20-30 seconds to chill the bev.
Pour into a creepy crawly cocktail glass and enjoy the separation of the foam and the drink. Some separation might happen as it sits since the components have different weights. Just stir it gently with a spoon to reconstitute.
Now, the question you might be asking: How do I light rosemary on fire? Raw leaves will not catch, so you need an ignition source. Overproof rum is your tool here!
Gosling’s is the brand I see most often, but any 151 proof rum works. Simply soak the tips of your rosemary sprigs in the rum and light that shit on fire. It won’t burn long, so you can keep amusing yourself by resoaking the rosemary until it crumbles into bits. Just keep it away from your eyebrows while it burns.
Tip: This trick works great with any woody herb, like sage, or a cinnamon stick!
Enjoy your weekend, boos!
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
A bloody good time:
the wicked pumpkin
Ingredients
- 2 oz bourbon
- 2 oz apple cider
- 1 oz hot honey (recipe below)
- 1/2 oz lemon juice
- 1 tbsp pumpkin butter
- 1 large egg white
- rosemary, for garnish
hot honey
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup hot sauce (I like Frank's or Chilula)
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Hot honey: In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the honey, hot sauce, cayenne, and red pepper flakes. Heat for 1 minute, then remove and stir. Let cool slightly.
- In a shaker, combine the apple cider, hot honey, lemon juice, pumpkin butter, and egg white. Dry shake for 30 seconds, then add the bourbon and a big handful of ice. Shake for 20-25 seconds longer.
- Pour into your favorite spooky cocktail glass and garnish with a rosemary sprig.
