Greetings, Wonketeers! I’m Hooper, your bartender. It’s barely September, and the stores are already serving up spooky season. My wife found a solid fall cocktail on Pinterest that I thought deserved attention. It’s a “Halloween” cocktail, but it avoids all the pitfalls of bad Halloween drinks. It’s not green, it’s not blood red, it’s not sugary, it’s not smoking, and it doesn’t have a gross-looking garnish. However, it does look spectacular, and it tastes absolutely wonderful. Let’s make up a Skeleton Key. Here’s the recipe:
1 ½ oz A. Overholt Rye Whiskey
¾ oz St. Germain Liqueur
1 oz lemon juice
Cock and Bull Ginger Beer
6-8 dashes Angostura Bitters
Add ice to a highball glass. Add the rye, St. Germain, and lemon juice to the glass. Stir gently 4-5 times. Add ginger beer and stir 2-3 times. Shake the Angostura bitters into the glass to form a float. Serve with a straw and swizzle stick. Stir the bitters into the beverage before drinking.
Brian Vollmer composed this cocktail while he was working at Michael Symon’s Roast in Detroit. Roast closed in 2022, but from what I can tell Brian’s still in the industry, so buy him a shot of Fernet if you run into him. I tweaked his recipe by dialing down the Angostura just a touch and swapping the bourbon for rye.
I generally prefer rye to bourbon. Bourbon is at least 51 percent corn, while rye whiskey is at least 51 percent rye grain. Both must be aged in charred oak barrels. Bourbon must be aged for at least two years, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll drink rye whiskey that’s been aged at least that long. (Some smartypants at Middle West Spirits, a Columbus distillery, sells “white rye whiskey” that’s been aged less than 24 hours in a used barrel. I refuse to taste it.) Just to make things more confusing, occasionally you’ll run into “high rye” bourbon. That’s bourbon that has rye as its second ingredient, but it’s still mostly corn.
The rye I’m using in this cocktail is 80 percent rye and 20 percent malted barley, which is a fierce, potent mix. Good rye whiskey skips corn altogether. Rye has a strong, dark, peppery flavor that stands in sharp contrast to sweet, mellow corn. Rye whiskey resembles rye bread; bourbon is similar to corn bread. They’re both good, but they barely fit into the same category. As far as I’m concerned, the dark, punchy spice of rye is much more interesting than smooth, buttery corn.
Rye also fits in very well with the other flavors in this glass. The ginger beer mixer and Ango float are spice bombs. Combine with fierce rye whiskey and you’ve got a killer Halloween drink. The St. Germain’s floral mellowness is the lifeline in this drink, reining in the worst excesses of the spice. The lemon adds acid and keeps the drink from being heavy. The drink looks bloody and powerful, and looks are not deceiving. This one’s going into my personal bar book for later in the year.
Let’s talk ingredients:
A. Overholt Rye: This is the upmarket version of Old Overholt, a classic rye whiskey that’s been around since 1804. I can’t say I like Old Overholt much. I tried it a while back, and I thought it tasted like bowling alley shoes. This bottle, however, is superb. The punchy spice of the rye comes through clearly, with a light malt finish. Once you taste this liquor, you know that it will be best friends with Angostura bitters and they’ll get into all sorts of trouble together.
St. Germain: The St. Germain surprised me here. I normally associate this syrupy elderflower liqueur with gin and spring cocktails. But the light floral flavor has a place here. The mellow notes provide contrast to the rye and Angostura, keeping the drink from going completely off the rails. I might be tempted to try agave syrup here, but overall I can’t think of a better choice to keep the cocktail complex and balanced.
Lemon Juice: The strong acid keeps the sweetness of the ginger beer and St. Germain in check. Use fresh juice, always. You’ll use roughly half a lemon in this drink.
Cock and Bull Ginger Beer: I wanted a spicy ginger beer for this drink, something that would stand up to the rye and Angostura. Saranac ginger beer is too sweet, and Reed’s is too funky. Cock and Bull has a place of honor behind the bar as one of the original ingredients in the Moscow Mule. It definitely works here.
Angostura Bitters: You need to love Ango to love this drink. I’ve cheerfully provided drinks made almost entirely of Angostura bitters for Wonkette before; this isn’t quite that intense, but it’s close. This drink *smells* of bitters … from some distance away. Give this drink a try. You’ll respect the little bottle in the back of your liquor cabinet when you’re done.
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