Halloween vintage cocktails: Blood red, boozy, and scary good [RECIPE]

The Jack Rose, and the Rose

​It's Halloween weekend, and many a cauldron will be smoking with witches' brew. While most Halloween cocktail recipes are quite grotesque in a not-good way (think Bailey's Irish Cream with strawberry schnapps floating on top), we have an entirely different set of spirits in mind, with vintage cocktails that are blood red, balanced in flavor, and strong enough to scare away the ghoulies.

The Jack Rose Cocktail

1 ½ oz. Applejack (apple brandy distilled from hard cider, not excessively spendy)
Juice of ½ lime (or lemon)
2 or more dashes real pomegranate grenadine
Lemon or lime garnish

Shake well in an iced cocktail shaker, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a lime (or lemon) wedge.

The Rose

2 oz. dry French vermouth
1 oz. Kirschwasser (use the rest of the bottle for fondue)
1 tsp. raspberry syrup

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Recipes from Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails by Ted Haigh