Cocktails
Halloween Midnight Mezcal Black Manhattan
This Halloween Midnight Mezcal Black Manhattan is a smoky, stirred drink for people who want a drier Halloween cocktail. Mezcal replaces whiskey, while Averna adds bittersweet herbs and chocolate bitters deepen the finish.
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WHAT YOU NEED
Ingredients
METHOD
How to make it
- Chill a rocks glass in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Cut a wide strip of orange peel, avoiding most of the white pith. Lay it skin-side down on a clean board.
- For the optional crescent, dab the measured agave syrup onto the orange side of the peel, then press the black sesame seeds into the syrup in a small crescent. Set the peel aside.
- Fill a mixing glass about three-quarters full with ice.
- Measure the mezcal and pour it into the mixing glass.
- Measure the Averna, add it to the mezcal, then add the chocolate bitters.
- Stir continuously for 20–25 seconds, until the mixing glass feels very cold.
- Put one large fresh ice cube in the chilled rocks glass.
- Strain the cocktail from the mixing glass over the fresh ice, leaving the spent mixing ice behind.
- Pinch the orange peel over the drink to express its oils, rest it on the rim with the crescent facing up and serve immediately.
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Something wrong or not matching?
Keep it cold and properly diluted
Stirring is part of the recipe: it chills the drink and adds controlled dilution without clouding it. Use fresh ice in the serving glass rather than transferring the wet mixing ice. If your mezcal is stronger than 40% ABV, the finished drink will also be stronger than the displayed estimate.
For a lighter smoky drink, try the Haunted Scotch Tea Highball. The alcohol-free companion is the Frankenstein Honeydew Slush. Browse Halloween cocktails.
The estimate counts the mezcal, Averna and chocolate bitters. It excludes the orange peel, agave syrup and black sesame garnish because those garnish elements are optional; the mixing ice is discarded after chilling. The strength assumes 40% ABV mezcal and 29% ABV Averna.
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