The Thirteen Drinks of Halloween 2020 – Three

Here we are, howling into day three of The Thirteen Drinks of Halloween and the next step into our exploration of the spirits of the season. So far, we have made a pretty drink that doesn’t work till you make it ugly and an already macabre classic cocktail. Today we are going to go a little deeper with a drink that appears to be one thing and turns out to be quite another. So, won’t you please join me now as we stand and make, the Wolf’s Bite.

This sheep in wolf’s clothing comes advertised as appearing “innocent and sweet, but with a sinister spirit.” It is also presented as a shot, that should be shaken with all the ingredients in it or stirred with the grenadine added to the glass last. The recipes are really all over the board. Sometimes it appears as a bright green layered shot with a red base which is challenging to do if you make it as written. To be fair, this is another of those drinks that looks great in the pictures on the website, but actually tastes better if you mess up the presentation and make it as a proper drink, so that’s what we are going to do.

Grab a mixing pitcher and add 1/4 ounce of absinthe, I used St. George; 1/2 an ounce of Midori melon liqueur, 1 ounce of pineapple juice, 1/2 an ounce of lemon lime soda, I went with Sprite and a dash of grenadine. Stir well with ice while rocking out to Warren Zevon’s classic “Werewolves of London“. If you don’t sing, and more importantly, howl along you are not living your best life and you are gonna leave the party with regrets. Don’t let that happen, throw your head back, let your hair down and howl at the moon. You will feel better for it, trust me. Strain your concoction into something diminutive and pretty, maybe with a full moon motif etched into the glass, with moons repeated in the foot. That’ll do.

Built this way the drink is surprisingly good, as a sipper. I hate Midori, but it works here, paired with that sweet pineapple and grenadine it makes a nice counterpoint to the absinthe. Plus, the effervescent thing coming in from the sprite makes it surprisingly light and lovely. Is it great, no; but it is pretty good. Way better than I expected from the absinthe midori shooter. To be fair, it is not as good as a shot, but it is “spookier” for your party. If you really want to go that way and have a tray of shots to pass around that look cool and aren’t terrible, be sure to use a reasonably green absinthe, which may mean coloring has been added and make as above, but hold out the grenadine. When you pour it up use a tall shot glass and add a dash of grenadine. Let the grenadine settle to the bottom of the glass before presenting. It looks cooler, but is not as tasty, especially when you get that too sweet kick of grenadine on the end. This one works way better when the aftertaste is the anise from the absinthe. If you are just drinking to get drunk, make the pretty shooter version, drink one of those and then switch to something else, because you do not want the headache that will follow too many of these sweet, alcohol light, shooters. I don’t care what your great uncle told you about blacking out on absinthe during the war, it’s just alcohol. Sure, the St. George stuff is 120 proof, but there is only 1/4 ounce of it in there. To be fair, once in 1943, Wilford Brimley got drunk on 40 proof super sweet Midori and we all know where that led. Just remember to wear your grown up pants and drink responsibly, no green fairy is going to steal your soul, unless you invite them to.

So there you go, the same ingredients used to make a drink two ways, one is tasty the other is good for your instagram party. Unlike the Black Widow, this one works both ways, it is just better as a sipper. I might bump the soda up to make it even more palatable, but you do you. Stay safe, stay hydrated and stay spooky, my friends.