Local Bars Serve Up Drinks With Halloween Vibes
It's basically candy for adults
By Evan Rodriguez, 6:50PM, Fri. Oct. 27, 2023
Halloween is Tuesday, but you've got all weekend to enjoy an array of spirited (and spirit-less) cocktails around town.
Lefty’s Brick Bar has been dressed up as Lefty's Shop of Horrors, a monthlong Halloween interactive pop-up featuring a whole menu of Samhain-themed frozens, cocktails, mocktails, a couple of punch bowls, and even a spicy boilermaker in the Halloween spirit.
The décor is pretty creepy and definitely a unique spin on the season, down to the blood-stained restrooms. You’re not going to find much of this ephemera in a Spirit Halloween store.
Both of their frozens are good. Try a Morgue-Arita ($15) offered original, spicy, or bloody. Or maybe it's time to follow the clown into the sewers with the Pennywise Painkiller ($12). The Morgue-Arita is boozy, with good texture, served in a cauldron cup, and comes with a slick concoction of red goo that becomes candy as it is splashed over the top, congealing to a firm splatter.
The Pumpkinhead, a pumpkin-spiced old fashioned, could have been primed for a sugary grave, but mine was spirit-forward with the vanilla-infused Angostura bitters and pumpkin spice taking back seat to the bourbon, as it should be.
Lefty’s offers a couple of zero-proof options that can be made hard with booze additions.
Beware: The Ghostbusters Combo, a ghost pepper-infused fireball paired with a Carl Kolsch, spicy infusion is no apparition.
The international spooky season pop-up, Black Lagoon, is at King Bee through Halloween night.
On offer are six unique drinks, a mix of zero-proof and full proof. Themed playlists echo through the venue with sounds from AC/DC to Danzig, and spooky décor to accentuate the dark lounge vibe.
Go with the Silent Scream, a blend of Diplomatico rum, Lustau Amontillado sherry, Campari, coconut, passion fruit, lime juice, and Bitter Queens Thai Spice. Terrifyingly tiki, and damn good. I don’t know if this is a nod to the unfortunately prescient, truly scary 1984 anti-abortion film of the same name, but the drink is way more palatable than the aforementioned celluloid propaganda.
The Satanic Panic is a good option for those who prefer a zero-proof option. A mix of tequila alternative, pineapple, miso falernum, and lime is refreshing and tart, almost like a shrub. The actual satanic panic that began in the 1980s was also actually zero proof, so there is some parallel there.
No substitutions on the drinks, all you picky city witches and warlocks.
As an added bonus, Bad Larry Burger Club is popping up at King Bee on Halloween night. Come hungry and ready to be spooked.
As ever, be sure to drink responsibly. Don't allow yourself of your friends to drink and drive.
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Dec. 15, 2023
Lefty's Brick Bar, King Bee, Black Lagoon
