Halloween Cocktail: the Black Promise

Can you feel it in your bones? It’s Halloween, folks. Tonight, dark things stalk the land and evil is at large. The clink of a spectre’s chains, the slither of something slimy, the howl of a creature in the night. Perhaps our cocktail this week will give you some comfort…

When it comes to Halloween, I’m usually a massive humbug. I sit at home with the lights out – not because I’m embracing the spookiness of the occasion but in an attempt to avoid Trick-or-Treaters!

I mean, why one earth should I give away my sweeties?!

Well, not this year. This Halloween, Mrs Romance and I will be embracing the occasion whole-heartedly. We’re even going to a dress-up party!

To see us through the night, we thought a special cocktail was in order. Something dark, yet sweet… and with our own little touch to make it different. This is our Black Promise!

The Black Promise

Here’s what you need:

• 1 1/2 x Mr Black cold filter coffee liqueur
• 1 x dark crème de cacao
• 1/2 x Cointreau
• About a cup of white caster sugar, red and yellow food colouring to garnish

Here’s what you do:

1. To make the sugar rim garnish, put a drop of red and a drop of yellow food colouring into about a cup of caster sugar and mix well until the sugar has turned orange.
2. Put some of the sugar onto a plate, wipe the glass rim with a lime segment then dip the glass in the sugar.
3. Pour the spirits (knock once for yes, twice for no) over ice into a cocktail shaker.
4. Shake well and strain into the sugar-rimmed champagne bowl.
5. Serve with a cackle, a rattle of chains or a good old ‘mo-ha-ha-ha-haaaaa!’

Mr Black is an Australian coffee liqueur made with high-quality cold-drip coffee (here’s one of the other cocktails we’ve made with it). If you don’t have any Mr Black, a shot of strong coffee – chilled and mixed with a little vodka – will work ok.

If you don’t have any Cointreau, Grand Marnier would work, or just triple sec.

If you’re having trouble getting a good coating of sugar on the glass rim, try using a little honey smeared on the rim.

Compared to last week’s Halloween cocktails – For Your Eyes Only vodka martinis – the Black Promise isn’t as spooky by half. But because of the coffee, this drink would work well as a party starter.

Alternatively, thanks to the sweetness of the chocolate and orange, this would also work well at the end of your séance/dinner party.

Whenever you drink it, enjoy this cocktail… you never know; it may be your last! Mo-ha-ha-haaaaaaa!

What are your plans this Halloween? Do you get really involved or do you hide away until the sun comes back up? Tell us in the comments!

Images by Mrs Romance.