Halloween closing in… (Captain Cold, Scorpion)

I’ve been feeling kinda sullen lately, maybe that’s why today’s drinks are somewhat grim – only bad guys today…

(“Quickly! Quickly! Take the pic before the ice melts – and before the glass melts!”)

CAPTAIN COLD

Edinburgh Gin Distillery’s Elderflower Liqueur

dash of the smokiest mezcal you’ve got

Few drops Blue Curacao, should you want to adjust the colour to “glacier green/blue”

Shake vigorously with ice and strain into a suitable glass crammed with ice… or glasses made out of ice 🙂

This particular liqueur is fine as it is, with plenty of ice… I must say: although the taste is pretty fine, it gets boring pretty fast. Solution: try to balance it with something “totally contradicting”?

Well, mean and smoky mezcal sure is something opposite – and hey, the result is pretty nice! It has a cool “glacial” feel with mean disposition… since Mr. Freeze and Killer Frost, our frrrreezing villains, have their drinks already, I think this creation should be named after Len Snart, aka. Captain Cold.

You might have to do some testing with mezcal, when you find the right ratio you’ll know what I’m talking about.

SCORPION

3 parts extra dry vermouth

2 parts Midori

3 parts dark rum

dash of sarsaparilla syrup

dash of Kahlúa

dash of bourbon

dash of Angostura Orange bitters

(option: 4 parts both vermouth and rum, otherwise the same)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass with an ice cube in it.

Now here’s an interesting one… the basic ingredients – vermouth, Midori and rum – create a cocktail which is pretty bland, but you can tell it has potential… it is all those dashes that breathe this drink alive!

As you’ve guessed, it takes a few attempts to get this right. And when it is “right”? When sarsaparilla gives kinda gloom feel, combined with a “darkness” of Kahlúa coffee; all this crowned with a slight hint of sweetbitter of bourbon, accompanied by Angostura’s citrus aroma.

I think this cocktail honours Scorpion, one of the greatest Spider-Man villains ever, pretty well.

I’ll publish next post a week before Halloween or so. I’m going to mix characters from different publishers to create a true nightmare… what is Captain America going to do if Lex Luthor is elected president again? :S