Bitches Brew, A Halloween Cocktail

Ghosts, ghouls, werewolves, oh my! It's finally Halloween, and I'm here to make sure you have a cocktail to fit the season. Bitch's Brew is a punch style cocktail that'll be great for any party.

When your friends know you make cocktails, your friends ask you to make cocktails. I get many requests to make drinks for parties, get-togethers, weddings, you name it. This year a close friend asked me to make a cocktail for his housewarming/Halloween party. Because he's pretty awesome, I said "of course!"

How to Make Bitches Brew Recipe

Then the wheels started turning in my brain, and I had to decide what to make. What flavors should I use, and how boozy should I make it? But the biggest question was: do I really want to be making drinks the whole time I'm at the party? No. I don't. So, I made a punch-style cocktail.

Punches are a great party cocktail because they aren't overly boozy and they are easy to serve.

***I'm making a single serving of this cocktail in the video, but making a bigger batch is just as easy. You can find the recipe for the batch in the description and on our website. Then you can stick the whole batch in a pitcher to make it easy to pour. ***

Batch of Bitches Brew

This will make approximately 16 cocktails

Ingredients

• 16 oz pomegranate simple syrup
• 24 oz blackberry juice
• 16 oz fresh lemon juice
• 12 oz fall infused brandy
• 750 ml oz bulleit rye whiskey
• 32 oz ginger beer
• 6 oz water

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients into jug
2. Shake together to blend the ingredients
3. Pour in cups with ice or serve out of punch bowl with large piece of ice

This cocktail has a lot of different flavors going on, but they all work together and make a nice cocktail that anyone at your gathering will enjoy.

I decided to use a Bulleit rye whiskey to help give the forward liquor that spice and punch needed to stand out.

Then, I used brandy to add a little sweetness. I also wanted to round out the notes and start bringing those fall flavors into the cocktail. So, I sliced up 3 apples, 3 pears, and 3 peaches and stuck them in a mason jar with an entire bottle of Korbel brandy. Then I stuck the jar in the pantry for a month.

I also tried replacing my infusion with some apricot brandy, and that was equally delicious. So, if you don't have a month to wait, or you really don't feel like making your own infused brandy, that's just fine. Do what works for you.

How to Make Blackberry Juice

I used blackberries to make the juice base because they create a nice color for a Halloween themed cocktail. They were on sale at the grocery store, which was a nice bonus. To make the flavor richer and add more fall favors, I combined the blackberries with cinnamon and ginger.

Ingredients

• 3 cups of water
• 1.5 cups of sugar
• 2 small containers of blackberries
• 1 cinnamon stick
• ½ tablespoon of fresh grated ginger

Instructions

1. Place water and sugar in a pot and bring to boil
2. Add blackberries, cinnamon and ginger
3. Bring back to boil
4. Reduce to simmer for 15 minutes
5. Remove cinnamon stick
6. Blend everything together
7. Let cool

How to Make Pomegranate Simple Syrup

For sweetness, I made a pomegranate simple syrup with malic acid. The malic acid adds a little tartness to the added sugar and rounds out the flavors.

Ingredients

• 16 oz natural pomegranate juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon malic acid

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in pot and bring to a boil
2. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minute
3. Stir occasionally
4. Remove from heat and let cool down

For the garnish, I cut up blackberries give the cocktail that little evil look in the presentation. Lastly, topping the cocktail off with ginger beer provides the cocktail with the bubble taste and feel characteristic of a punch. The ginger also helps bring the cocktail home by bringing everything together.