Eyeball Punch With Apple Viscera

Author Notes

I love Halloween. My birthday is three days before so growing up I always had a spooky birthday party. Plus, I love getting dressed up (I am gay) and I love candy. Halloween is the perfect soft entry into the holiday season because there’s no one way to do it right. You can go to a parade, trick-or-treat, have a party, or even just stay at home with a scary movie.

In the years that my husband and I end up hosting a Halloween party, I always throw together a large format drink that keeps my guests’ glasses full without me having to run around and play bartender all night. Fundamentally, this drink is pretty simple, it’s apple brandy, port, and apple cider, but what makes this drink really special is the “viscera” ie. the apple ribbons and peeled grapes that are soaked in bright-red bitters to give them a stomach-turning internal-organs vibe that’s perfect for a celebration of spookiness. It might seem daunting at first, but peeling grapes is not as difficult as it sounds and it’s definitely worth it for the slimy eyeball texture. Apple strips can be made using a vegetable peeler and it’s up to you if you want to use the skin, or just the soft flesh.

The ice chunks can be made pretty simply by freezing filtered water in pint-sized deli containers. You don’t want to use small ice here as it will interfere with the impact of the viscera. And the final touch—the flaming rum, is entirely optional and I would not recommend it if you’re feeling wary about working with flames, but in a dark room late on Halloween night, nothing looks cooler than a flaming bowl of guts (and boo-ze!)
—John deBary