Whatever the original recipe, a Gibson is now nothing more than a dry Martini garnished with cocktail onions. Drinking at the bar of the Garden Hotel in New York, O’Neill often added a splash of club soda to his, but we don’t recommend that. As the stories make clear, when it comes to experimenting with alcohol, O’Neill is not a man to imitate.

.

GIBSON

2 1/2 oz. gin
1/2 oz. dry vermouth
2 or 3 cocktail onions
green food coloring (until appropriately gross-looking to fit the holiday)

Pour gin and dry vermouth into a mixing glass filled with ice cubes. Stir well. Strain into  a chilled cocktail glass. Dye it green. Garnish with cocktail onions.

Never afraid to be of service, the Algonquin Blog and Hemingway and Bailey’s Bartending Guide to Great American Writers are here to the rescue. Host a Literary Halloween Bash and invite friends to come dressed as their favorite writer or literary character. Our suggestion? Hunter S. Thompson—with his signature Greyhound cocktail in hand, of course. The necessary attire: khaki shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, fisherman’s hat, socks pulled up to your knees, and aviator sunglasses. (Some may note that Thompson was rarely seen without a cigarette,  but we’re loathe to encourage the habit.) Be sure to send us some photos!

Greyhound

Muhammed Ali once gave Thompson a health tip–eat a huge amount of grapefruit. Considering Thompson’s alcohol and drug intake, that hardly seems a drop in the bucket. Nonetheless he took the champ’s advice to heart; he just added liquor to the mix.

Make sure to use freshly squeezed grapefruit juice; Thompson always did. Indeed he rarely was without a minimum half-dozen grapefruits and his stainless-steel bowie knife.

2 oz. vodka

5 oz. fresh grapefruit juice

Pour vodka and grapefruit juice into a highball glass filled with ice cubes. Stir gently.

–Katie Ford, Assistant Marketing Manager

Half and Half

The Half and Half is perhaps better known as a Black and Tan. The nickname is derived now just from the colors, but from the regiment of British soldiers stationed in Ireland after World War I. Called the Black and Tans, their mismatched uniforms resembled the colors of the drink. Ironically, while the soldiers were a notoriously rough lot, the Half and Half is rather smooth. Any easy combination of bitter and mild, you’ll find it a pleasant way to develop a state for stout.

8 oz. chilled lager

8 oz chilled stout.

Pour lager into a chilled pint glass. Pout stout over the back of a bar spoon to help it float over the “tan.” Sometimes ale is used instead of lager.

–Brittany

Believed to have been invented at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris in the 1920s, the Bloody Mary came over to the States after Prohibition via bartender Fernand “Pete” Petoit. Pete made the drink with gin and served it under the name Red Snapper. The perfect eye-opener, it is favored by those, like Carver, who know from a hangover.

2 oz. vodka

½ oz. lemon juice

¼ oz. Worcestershire sauce

3 dashes Tabasco sauce

¼ tsp. grated horseradish

1 pinch cracked pepper

1 pinch salt

1 pinch celery salt

Top with tomato juice

Celery stalk

Lime wedge

Pour all ingredients (except garnish and tomato juice) into a highball glass. Fill with ice cubes. Top with tomato juice, and stir. Garnish with celery stalk and lime wedge. Feel free to adjust ingredients to taste, but remember—the horseradish is essential. Enjoy!

-Katie

Like most great writers, Poe enjoyed a good, stiff drink. Here is his favorite cocktail, the Sazerac, as cataloged along with that of 42 other classic American writers in Hemingway & Bailey’s Bartending Guide to Great American Writers:

“Poe had a great affection for absinthe. Sixty-eight percent alcohol mixed with a toxic herb called wormwood, absinthe was the drink of choice for poets and artists of the mid- to late nineteenth century. Until banned in 1912, absinthe was a key ingredient of the Sazerac. One of the first cocktails created in America, the Sazerac originated in New Orleans in the early 1800s. We have replaced the absinthe with Pernod. We hope Poe will forgive us.

• 3 dashes of Pernod
• 2 oz. rye whiskey
• 1/4 oz. simple syrup
• 3 dashes of Peychaud bitters
• Lemon twist

“Pour Pernod into a chilled Old-Fashioned glass. Swirl until entire inside of the glass is coated, then discard excess. Pour rye, simple syrup, and bitters into a mixing glass filled with ice cubes. Stir well. Strain into the Old-Fashioned glass (no ice). Garnish with lemon twist.”

Mix one up and then hunker down with a spooky story. (May we recommend this creepy fiction collection that details the evolution of often grotesque, old-world medical science, or this true-life 1900′s murder mystery?)

And if you’re planning a less-quiet Halloween, the Sazerac would be awesome served up with these creepy candy apples at any costume party! Get the how-to here.

-christina

]]> http://www.algonquinbooksblog.com/blog/excerpts/your-hunt-for-the-perfect-halloween-cocktail-nevermore/feed/ 3