In the Halloween spirit, I’ve been mixing up potions in the evenings over the past week to determine the perfect cocktail for a spooky Halloween celebration this weekend. After much mixing, stirring, and shaking, I settled on a rum and pineapple juice concoction that gets an earthy, herbal kick from fresh sage leaves and Strega, an Italian digestif liqueur made of 70 different herbs and spices.

The deciding factor in featuring this cocktail over the others we sampled was the liqueur. Strega, Italian for witch, is quite fitting for the holiday dedicated to transforming oneself into someone or something else!

Witch’s Brew Cocktail

Witch’s Brew Cocktail (adapted from cookinglight.com)

Total Time Required: 40 minutes,  Cook Time: 10 minutes, Cooling Time: 20 minutes, Yield: 8 – 10 servings

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons white sugar
• 6 tablespoons brown sugar
• 5 ounces unsweetened pineapple juice
• 10 fresh sage leaves, torn
• 18 ounces white rum
• 6 ounces fresh lime juice
• 3 ounces Strega
• lime slices for serving

Directions:

Bring the sugars and 4 ounces of water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve the  sugar.

Combine the sugars and water over medium heat.

Add the pineapple juice and reduce the heat. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the pineapple juice to the mixture.

Reduce the heat to low, add the sage, and steep the mixture for 5 minutes.

Add the sage and allow the mixture to steep.

Remove the pineapple syrup from the heat, strain it through a fine mesh strainer and discard the solids. Cool the syrup to room temperature.

Strain and cool the pineapple syrup.

Combine the pineapple syrup, rum, lime juice, and Strega in a pitcher. To serve, pour 6 ounces of the rum mixture into a shaker filled with ice. Shake well, and strain into two rocks glasses, half filled with ice.

Combine the syrup with the alcohols and lime juice and use a shaker to chill the drinks.

Garnish each serving with a lime slice. Repeat the procedure with the remaining rum mixture, ice, and lime slices.

Serve over ice with lime wedges.

Happy Halloween!  ~Linda

Witch’s Brew Cocktail (adapted from cookinglight.com) Total Time Required: 40 minutes,  Cook Time: 10 minutes, Yield: 8 – 10 servings

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons white sugar
• 6 tablespoons brown sugar
• 5 ounces unsweetened pineapple juice
• 10 fresh sage leaves, torn
• 18 ounces white rum
• 6 ounces fresh lime juice
• 3 ounces Strega
• lime slices for serving

Directions:

Bring the sugars and 4 ounces of water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve the  sugar. Add the pineapple juice and reduce the heat. Simmer for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add the sage, and steep the mixture for 5 minutes. Remove the pineapple syrup from the heat, strain it through a fine mesh strainer and discard the solids. Cool the syrup to room temperature.

Combine the pineapple syrup, rum, lime juice, and Strega in a pitcher. To serve, pour 6 ounces of the rum mixture into a shaker filled with ice. Shake well, and strain into two rocks glasses, half filled with ice. Garnish each serving with a lime slice. Repeat the procedure with the remaining rum mixture, ice, and lime slices.