"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble."
Shakespeare, Hamlet: Act 4, Scene 1
You can't do Halloween cocktails without at least one nod to a witch's brew, right? Since I found a perfect drink sized witch's cauldron this year, I figured it was time to do my own version of a bubbling cauldron of witchy wassail.
My cocktail recipe is an adaptation of Charles Schumann's Apple Sunrise created at Schumann’s Bar in Munich in 1980. I thought it would make a great witch's wassail type brew, plus I had the Calvados and the crème de cassis at hand.
WICKED WITCH'S BREW
A Calvados, Crème de Cassis and Apple Cider Cocktail
INGREDIENTS
1-1/2 Oz. Calvados (Apple Brandy)
1/2 Oz. Crème De Cassis
3/4 Oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
5 Oz. Fresh Apple Cider
2 Tablespoons Pasteurized Egg Whites
Ice
Garnish: 2 Dashes Cardamom Bitters, Assorted Body Parts Gummy Candies, Dusting of Fresh Nutmeg, Straws
Tools: Cocktail Shaker
Glass: Witch's Cauldron or Rocks Glass
DIRECTIONS
Shake ingredients without ice for a minimum of a minute to emulsify the egg white and build the foam. (Alternatively, you may use a blender for this step.) Shake cocktail with ice to chill then strain into the ice filled cauldron or an ice filled rocks glass.
Tap the bitters onto the foam, add several of the body part gummies, a lemon twist, straws and serve.
If you really want to make this brew bubble, add a large chunk of dry ice to your glass before adding the regular ice. The regular ice will keep the dry ice from accidentally being sipped in. Handle the dry ice with tongs or gloves to prevent burns.
A Little About Witches
Since the beginning of time, man has had a fear of strong, powerful women. So much so that a name was invented to classify, imprison, torture and kill them. The term "witch" stems from the old English term "wicce", a word applied to those who practiced "magic" the occult and even those who practiced healing arts. In other words, abilities and practices people didn't understand were termed witchcraft and dealt with according to current religious beliefs. Though males were sometimes a target of this type of discrimination, most often the victims were female. In male-dominated societies, unusual power and abilities in women were seen as dangerous and evil and quickly dealt with so as not to upset the status quo. Though we no longer persecute witches, at least in a legal or societal area, the term is still applied to women as a negative and pejorative description.
