The Pacific Northwest is pouring a wide variety of Halloween and harvest inspired spirits to quench your holiday thirst. From 3 Howls’ seasonally inspired vodkas and gin to Oregon Spirit Distillers Darkside rum and Wild Card Absinthe, local distilleries are serving up spook-worthy spirits perfect for serving at your upcoming Halloween party.
Hailing from Seattle’s SODO district, 3 Howls Distillery has fittingly concocted a few flavor infused spirits inspired to spook. Like the giant hell hound Cù Sìth of Scotland that 3 Howls is named after, you too will be howling for more after immersing your taste buds in 3 Howls’ Blood Orange Vodka. Dehydrated oranges from 3 Howls’ neighbor, Simple & Crisp organic dried fruit crisps, naturally infuse this vodka with a balanced blend of spicy and sweet while a run through the rose petal packed still encourage a delicate floral character. On the rocks or shaken with other spooky colors and flavors, this vodka stands out in 3 Howls’ Blood Orange Cosmo.
Ingredients:
- 1½ oz Vodka
- 1 oz 3 Howls Blood Orange Vodka
- ½ oz fresh lime juice
- ¼ oz cranberry juice
- Orange peel, for garnish
Directions:
Shake all the ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange peel. Pour over ice in a tall glass and garnish with several thinly sliced blood orange wheels.
While 3 Howls may be distilling spirits inspired by the season, they’re not the only ones. Throughout the region, distilleries have been hard at work crafting recipes for seasonal spirits just in time for Halloween.
Gig Harbor, Wash.’s Heritage Distilling Company is celebrating the falling leaves with their Fall Classic Apple Cider Flavored Whiskey. A Northwest take on a traditional Southern style “Apple Pie,” this fall friendly liquor even echoes the spirit of the south with its moonshine-esque packaging. In the second season of FX’s original series “Justified,” the cold, hard matriarch of a long line of degenerates would exhaust her adversaries with a nip of her special apple pie whiskey that would put them six feet under.
Heritage Distilling, however, suggests enjoying this liquor as the living by either chilling in the freezer and enjoying straight; pouring in a tumbler over ice; serving in a warm glass and topping with homemade whipped cream and caramel sauce; or reducing to a syrup and drizzling over ice cream.
Bend, Ore.’s Oregon Spirit Distillers have crafted a rum inspired to bring out your “dark side.” Blending their philosophy for producing quality liquors that reflect the spirit of Oregon with the use of only the finest grade ingredients, Oregon Spirit Distiller’s recently released a Distiller’s Choice Darkside rum. This velvety smooth rum is perfect for serving as a stand alone, or deck it out with spices for an infused and comforting cocktail perfect for fall.
Last year Oregon Spirit Distillers released an elixir “wild” enough to fuel up even the most zonked out zombie with their Wild Card Absinthe. Celebrate the one year anniversary of this intoxicating liquor by infusing your Halloween with a Wild Card inspired cocktail. Good enough to drink solitary or blended with their signature bourbon, Oregon Spirit Distillers recommend trying their recipe for a trademark New Orleans cocktail with a spirited Northwest spin in their Sparkling Wild Card Sazerac.
Ingredients:
- 12 oz. C.W. Irwin Bourbon
- ½ oz Wild Card Absinthe
- 1 sugar cube
- 2 dashes Angustora Bitters
- Soda Water
- Lemon
Directions:
Pour absinthe into a short tumbler, swirl, and toss out. Add bourbon, sugar cube and bitters, and muddle until well combined. Add a small amount of soda water and stir well. Finish with a twist of lemon, and feel your inner zombie come out to play as you devour this delicacy.
Our resident cocktail wiz, Kathy Casey, recommends tossing some plumped up basil or chia seeds into the mix to give your Halloween cocktail an extra spooky with a “tiny eyeball” look. Basil and Chia seeds can be found at most health food stores as well as online through Amazon.com. To plump basil seeds, soak 3 tablespoons of basil seeds with 1 cup of hot water. Let sit for 1 hour, then use as needed. Keep refrigerated after use.
If you’re planning on hosting a Halloween bash this year, Northwest distilleries are at your aid, providing festive spirits to accompany your fun. Dress up your party as you swirl, shake and swizzle with these fun and local spirits.
