Spooky season may look a bit different this year, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make a few on-theme cocktails ahead of our scary movie marathon. Below, we’ve compiled a few dynamic recipes from Equiano Rum, Mijenta Tequila and Lautrec at Nemacolin to get you into the festive mood for Halloween and Dia de los Muertos.

The Equiano Smoking Duppy (above)
by Ian Burrell
Inspired by Caribbean folklore derived, Global Rum Ambassador and Equiano Rum Co-Founder Ian Burrell crafted The Equiano Smoking Duppy, a simple yet delicious cocktail made with the world’s first African + Caribbean rum.

For the unacquainted, “Duppy” is a word of African origin meaning ghost or spirit. The term is commonly used in various Caribbean islands — including Barbados, where Equiano’s Caribbean element is from, and most prevalently in Jamaica, where Burrell’s family is from. Duppy are often regarded as malevolent, evil spirits that take various forms and are said to come out and haunt people (mostly) at night.

For this cocktail, Burrell chose to use syrup made from the classic rum-pairing: pineapple, the vibrant tropical fruit, and chocolate bitters, a uniquely rich variety of cocktail bitters that add warmth and complexity to the drink. The cocktail offers a natural sweetness with touches of oak, anise, sweet pepper and a hint of bitter orange peel to finish, when paired with Equiano Rum.

INGREDIENTS:

2oz Equiano Rum

0.5oz Pineapple syrup

3 dashes of chocolate bitters

METHOD:

Combine all ingredients in a lowball glass over ice.

Serve with a dehydrated pineapple slice as garnish and smoke.

Juan Coronado’s La Santanera, made with Mijenta Tequila
Quite opposite to The Caribbean’s views on spirits that lurk in the living world, Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos (or Day of the Dead) is a day to celebrate loved ones who have passed, as they awaken to join in on the merriment. The holiday has become well-recognized around the world due to its irresistible symbols: the sugar skull and marigold flowers, and the allure of the holiday’s festivities.

Inspired by the vibrant colors of the marigold, Juan Coronado, Co-Founder of Mijenta Tequila, crafted the La Santanera, which means ‘one with the wisdom and power to cure all ailments.’ The blanco spirit from Mijenta, an artisanal small batch tequila inspired by Mexico’s heritage and traditions, lends notes of honey, vanilla, caramel and floral, along with flashes of tropical fruits and an aroma of cooked agave to complement the autumnal ginger and pumpkin syrups.

INGREDIENTS:

1.5oz Mijenta Tequila Blanco

.5oz Oloroso sherry

0.25oz ginger syrup

.75oz lime juice

0.25oz pumpkin syrup (Coronado recommends Monín)

METHOD:

Shake all ingredients vigorously with plenty of ice

Strain into a chilled coupe glass

Garnish with nutmeg and a pumpkin chip, or sugar skulls and marigolds if you have them.

Micah Robinson’s Redrum, served at Lautrec – Nemacolin Woodlands Resort
As Manager of Lautrec, at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, Micah Robinson was inspired by the resort’s resemblance to the famous Stanley Hotel from The Shining (but don’t worry, you won’t find any ghosts here!).  The Forbes Five Star & AAA Five Diamond Restaurant played up the name with an abundance of blood orange, perfectly paired with a hibiscus-jalapeno syrup to round out the drink and add a bit of heat.

INGREDIENTS:

2oz tequila

1.25oz blood orange shrub

.5 hibiscus-jalapeno syrup

Blood orange foam

Dehydrated blood orange