The Witch’s Heart – Halloween Cocktail

The Witch’s Heart – Halloween Cocktail

Tis Hallowe’en, And in this brew, The witch will stir, Good luck for you!

Are you brave enough to drink The Witch’s Heart? Here’s the perfect easy-to-make whimsical cocktail for Halloween this year or for any themed party for that matter!

My husband and I have a love-hate relationship with the concept of horror, in that, he loves it and I hate it. I’m the kind of girl who has always believed in ghosts and Mr K is the kind of guy who gleefully uses this knowledge to scare the crap out of me whenever he can. Of course my logical mind tells me that ghosts aren’t real, the dead is just that – dead, but it has never been able to drown out that little voice in my head which tells me that the inexplicable, the ghosts, the spirits, the demons, the invisible that lurk around dark corners, are always full of menace.

Witches, monsters, vampires (even the namby-pamby, sparkling in the sun kind) and werewolves on the other hand, have got nothing on me! I will hunt them down and kick their collective ass. And that’s precisely how this dark magical potion, The Witch’s Heart came to be!

If you love shimmery Cocktails, then you will LOVE this Color Changing Shimmery Cocktail – The Phoenix! It’s a Gin and Elderflower cocktail that magically changes color! (No food coloring and the spirit is ready overnight)

This year I’m remembering the dead with this beautiful Halloween cocktail that’s sure to impress everyone. And since kids aren’t the only ones who should get to enjoy chocolate this Halloween, I’ll be pairing this with a whole bag of chocolate too!

I was also partly inspired to make this cocktail by the TV show – Once Upon A Time. The show almost always depicts potions and magic spells in swirls of shimmering light and smoke. And of course who can forget Regina’s (when she used to be evil!) fondness for ripping out hearts! The result was the combination of homemade Blackberry shimmery Liqueur (purple shimmery liqueur). Apple brandy (or Apple vodka) & Grenadine and voilà – The Witch’s Heart Cocktail!

You guys are going to love this. It’s so simple to make and you can adapt it to your taste absolutely any way you want. Plus it looks so gorgeous you could make this for any kind of themed party too! I have made this cocktail using Viniq as well, and the flavor profile does change when you use Viniq as opposed to Blackberry liqueur (you can make original Viniq or flavored Viniq at home too!). Every time I walk past the liqueur section in the store, I linger a little longer in front of the Viniq. And every time, I pick it up, give it a couple of swirls to mix it and then put it back.

That beautiful purple colour with the shimmery liquid just calls out to me. It’s what inspired me to create my own version at home, and create Purple Blackberry shimmery liqueur right at home. It looks so mesmerizing, it’s the perfect witch’s brew!

You can make this with Viniq, if you prefer. However, the flavor of the cocktail will change with Viniq. Plus, I am aware that not everyone has access to Viniq. So I came up with this neat little trick to make your own shimmery liqueur or homemade Viniq, in ANY color you want!!

An optional choice would be to mix in some strained raspberry or strawberry puree. That could really kick up those flavours too.

The blackberry liqueur is delicious and sweet on its own, so paired with that, the apple brandy gives it even more of a fruity flavour. But you can pair it with any kind of flavoured vodka that you like, to give it that extra boost of flavour.

I’m no mixologist, but this was so easy to put together and the flavours work beautifully. What I love the most though is how it looks. The shimmery purple with the “witch’s heart” at the bottom is just so elegant. And eerie.

The Witch's Heart - Halloween Cocktail

Servings: 1 drink

Author: Dini from The Flavor Bender

A dreamy, whimsical and magical Halloween Cocktail made with Blackberry Shimmery liqueur! Are you brave enough to drink The Witch's Heart?

Ingredients

1 jigger apple brandy or apple vodka chilled
1 tsp grenadine
2 jiggers (or to top up) Homemade Blackberry Shimmery Liqueur (see notes) chilled
Powdered dry ice optional
Martini glass to serve

Instructions

Add about 1/2 - 1 tsp of powdered dry ice to the bottom of the glass (optional).
Place the apple brandy and purple shimmery liqueur in a shaker. Add 1 ice cube and shake for a few seconds to chill the drink. Strain the drink into a martini glass. Top up with more purple shimmery liqueur if necessary.
Pour 1 tsp of grenadine syrup, about an inch from the surface of the drink - the grenadine should sink to the bottom, creating a "bleeding" effect.
Add about 1/2 tsp of powdered dry ice on top and serve with a stirrer, so that your guests can stir the "potion" to create that shimmery, smoky effect.

Recipe Notes

NOTE 1 - You can make this cocktail with Purple Shimmery Liqueur and mix it with some White Moscato Wine. Click here for the recipe to make Purple Shimmery Liqueur at home.

To make it easier, you can use Viniq instead, but as noted it will change the flavour profile.

NOTE 2 ABOUT DRY ICE - ONLY ADD COMPLETELY CRUSHED DRY ICE. Dry ice is simply solid CO2 gas and it goes straight from solid to gas without a liquid phase in the middle (this is called sublimation). So the smoke effect you see here is the solid dry ice evaporating. Wait until the smoke effect stops, because then you know the dry ice has completely evaporated, and the drink is now completely safe to drink. Just crush the dry ice (to a powder). I buy pellets OR add the dry ice into an ice bag and crush it using an ice crushing mallet or similar tool. ALWAYS wear gloves when handling dry ice.

You can add a little to the bottom of your cocktail glass to give it that spooky, smoky effect when you pour the drink, and maybe add another touch of powdered dry ice after that for a smoky effect that lasts a bit longer. But you should NOT swallow or ingest bits of dry ice. Wait until the dry ice has completely evaporated. This happens fast, and it leaves no residue behind as it evaporates. The powdered dry ice evaporates even faster.

And ALWAYS use gloves when handling dry ice. Never touch it with bare hands. Make sure dry ice is used in a ventilated space. In a part setting, make sure the cocktails are used in an open setting to avoid CO2 build up.

NOTE 3 - If you do not have enough time to make Blackberry Shimmery Liqueur but still want to make some magical cocktails for Halloween - scroll down to the bottom of the post to see a whole list of Magical cocktails made with COLOR CHANGING spirits (Only needs an overnight infusion)

And the dry ice gives it that final spooky touch. This is optional (though highly recommended if you’re going all Halloween on this one), but if you do use dry ice remember to ADD COMPLETELY CRUSHED DRY ICE ONLY. Just crush the dry ice (to a powder) and add a little to the bottom of your cocktail glass to give it that spooky smoky effect when you pour the drink, and maybe add another touch of powdered dry ice after that for a smoky effect that lasts just a little bit longer. You don’t want to swallow bits of dry ice though, so the powdered dry ice “melts” much faster.