Drinks Chilled, Or Chilling?: Halloween-Inspired Cocktails

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CREATIVE COSTUME? CHECK. Fake cobwebs and bowls of candy? Check and check. Halloween cocktails for your big bash? You might need some help with that. Area restaurants and bars are offering Halloween and fall cocktails, and some local mixologists have advice on how to make cool Halloween drinks at home.

TenPenh has the most elaborate Halloween cocktails, as Brennan Adams has three special drinks — the Jack O'Lantern (a persimmon cocktail served in a pumpkin filled with dry ice), Candy Corn (it doesn't taste like the ubiquitous treat but is made with sake and orange, and layered to look like the waxy little bites) and Candy Apple (spiced apple cider with a stick of cotton candy). The $10 cocktails are available through Saturday.

"When you go towards fall, with heavier foods come brown liquors, like scotch, bourbon and dark rums," Adams said, adding that herbs and spices are popular for fall beverages. "I take a cooking approach to cocktails and go for balance. ... I also use blood oranges, which go well with brown liquors."

At EatBar, you can find drinks such as the Poisoned Apple, made with vodka and Apple Pucker, and a Pop Rocks-lined rim. Bar manager Genevieve Ahrens advises keeping things simple at home.

"I try to use whatever is in season, local and available," she said. "I have a bourbon that I infuse with apples and pears, and I put the fruit into the bourbon and let it sit for seven to 10 days, then serve it on the rocks."

Ahrens says "incorporating candy is fun for Halloween."

"Make a sweet-tart martini, where you use a flavored vodka and drop a SweeTart in the bottom. It fizzes up and is really pretty," she said. "Pop Rocks make the party. Take lemon or lime and run it around the rim. ... It makes a pop in your mouth when you drink."

At Dino, look for fall flavors such as spiced Chianti fizz and a ginger-pear sidecar. Scott Palmer, who mans the bar at the Northwest restaurant, said there are easy ways to make seasonal drinks at home.

"Add freshly grated ginger, or pie spices to favorite cocktails," he advised. "Replace Triple Sec in favorites with a spicy spirit like Domaine de Canton Ginger liqueur or, if you can find it, Velvet Falernum, which is a rum-based liqueur laced with cloves. A margarita can skew fall just by removing the Triple Sec and swapping the Canton in."

Vermilion's Laura Secker created cocktails such as a birthday cake martini to coincide with its "Alice in Wonderland"-themed Halloween party.

"It's fun to have a theme for a party and think about the number of people you're catering to," she said. "Since you won't want to spend all evening making cocktails, think about having a punch and naming it after your theme."

Also look for fall cocktails at Bourbon Steak (bourbon and cinnamon), Central (pear cognac and champagne) and Trummer's on Main (hot spiced sangria). At Co Co. Sala, there's the Wild Winter, with Wild Turkey, apple cider infused with spices and praline pecan liquor, with a salted caramel rim.

» TenPenh, 1001 Pennsylvania Ave. NW; 202-393-4500, Tenpenh.com. (Federal Triangle)
» Dino, 3435 Connecticut Ave. NW; 202-686-2966, Dino-dc.com. (Cleveland Park)
» EatBar, 2761 Washington Blvd., Arlington; 703-778-9951, Eat-bar.com. (Clarendon)
» Vermilion, 1120 King St., Alexandria; 703-684-9669, Vermilionrestaurant.com.

» Recipe File: Spiced chianti fizz

Written by Express contributor Amy Cavanaugh