Welcome back friends - it's Anders.
Today, we're making the Rattle Skull.
This is a beer cocktail -
first we've done on the channel, and also quite possibly the oldest cocktail we've done on the channel.
And it's perfect for the season because it's called a Rattle Skull - which is kind of spooky sounding.
It's Halloween season - unless you're watching this a different time of year, but here at..
Anders' Bar it's Halloween!
I'm dressed like a pumpkin.
This cocktail surprised me when I first had it. If you want to throw your bartender for a loop
order a Rattle Skull.
They probably won't know what it is unless they follow this channel.
It's beer and booze, and citrus and nutmeg, and it's pretty tasty.
Tasty enough to show you how I make it.
If you're new to the channel, Happy Halloween!
Hit that subscribe button for more sips, tips, and recipes.
And let's go make The Rattle Skull!
To the bar.
Ooooh spooooky!
[intro music]
The Rattle Skull pre-dates classic cocktails. This drink is old. it falls into a category of other
It falls into a category of other drinks that were popular during colonial times in New England.
So like, 1700s. Long time ago.
I can't tell you who came up with this drink. I don't know that anybody really knows.
And there are a number of different recipes, but they all contain a spirit - usually a rum or brandy,
and a dark ale - like a porter or stout.
This was popular in taverns when taverns were a popular place to be.
Taverns were a social hub and political hub.
You'd go there to conduct business meetings, you'd go there to have political debates, maybe plan a revolution.
You would just go there to get your news and to talk a lot - have good conversation.
So The Rattle Skull was perfect for this because "Rattle Skull" actually refers to somebody who talks a lot.
A chatterbox.
You know, somebody who talks and doesn't really have a whole lot to say.
When people talk to each other face-to-face.
Now we do it through cameras, but we can still have Rattle Skulls.
I'm gonna invite Az on to have one because I don't believe she has tasted this before.
I've already had it - I do like it.
And I will do my best to keep from talking too much. Sometimes when I've had a little to drink I tend to become a chatterbox.
I said it - I become a Rattle Skull. But not today.
This drink is gonna be a big one, so get a big glass. It's gonna have a full 12 ounces of ale and booze.
So if you dare, have one this Halloween - or anytime you want.
Now the booze.
For this recipe we are gonna need porter,
rum,
cognac,
and a rich Demerara syrup -
this is two parts sugar to one part water,
and freshly squeezed lime juice.
The porter I'm using is Founders Porter,
the rum I'm using is Appleton Estate Signature Jamaican Rum,
and the cognac is Maison Rouge V.S.O.P.
For the porter, I'm going to use this whole bottle,
so just have a porter you like - or stout. Just a dark ale.
If you wanted to use a dark brown ale, I think that'll be good too.
This one is Founders. It says on it "dark, rich, sexy " so I had to buy it - and it's good.
As for the rum, I went with Appleton Estate.
I just like mixing with this rum.
It's got a little funk, but it's not overly funky. It's not gonna take over the cocktail,
but it's gonna add some nice flavor to the drink. to the drink the cognac i mean this is just
The cognac - I mean this is just a favorite of mine and it goes well with rum.
Rum and cognac actually is a really good combo.
Hmm
So a lot of recipes just call for rum, other recipes just call for brandy,
and I'm doing both because I want to do both.
Demerara syrup - if you don't have Demerara, or Deme-RARE-a,
you can use turbinado sugar or brown sugar.
Oh - and the piece -
de résistance.
Nutmeg!
Now you could sprinkle nutmeg on top, or freshly grated is going to be much better.
It's just very fragrant.
Yep!
This drink, traditionally, you would just dump your booze into the glass.
However, I'm gonna shake the spirits with the sugar and citrus just briefly
to help incorporate, add a little bit of air, and to chill it so that it keeps the bubbles lively.
It's gonna give us a nice head to lay the nutmeg on top
Let's build.
Okay, into the shaking tin, let's start with the rum. I'm gonna do one ounce of rum,
one ounce of cognac,
half an ounce of the rich Demerara syrup,
and three quarters of an ounce of lime juice.
Now we can add ice and shake.
We don't have to give this the full 10-15 seconds. We just want to give it a quick shake.
Let's say five to eight seconds.
And now the porter beer - or stout.
I'm just gonna pour this whole thing into the glass. And definitely make sure you have a glass big enough.
And then we can carefully pour the cocktail right on top.
You pour it fast it's going to want to foam over.
I'm going to give it a little stir just to make sure everything's incorporated.
Kind of epic looking, actually.
Top it off with freshly grated nutmeg. I'm going gonna do a nice dusting.
There we are! The oh-so-spooky Rattle Skull.
Cheers! Cheers!
You first. Happy Halloween.
Kind of just tastes like beer.
Mmm
I think it's good - I think the lime is important. Keeps it light. Porters tend to be heavier beers.
It does have a - a very subtle brightness. It's weird - but it's good! i would merely drink this
I would merrily drink this in the fall.
You are merrily drinking it in the fall.
I am! This is fun!
And also a little dangerous.
Is it?
Well, we've got two ounces of booze in here on top of the beer, and really you get the beer the most.
That's pretty good!
There it is!
It's growing on me.
My goal is to make a drink that creates a spit take from you.
In what world is that really -
Even if you don't like something, you don't spit it out.
Maybe food if it's really bad - like if you think it might be poison.
Yeah, but would you comically spit it out?
No! Who does that? No one does that.
It'd be hilarious.
I've spat out food if I thought it was unsafe to consume. The closest I've come to spitting out a drink is
because you're laughing so hard that you might just spit out your drink.
That's how I need to approach it - is to make you laugh.
Yeah, I might spit it out if I think it's poison.
Oh - I would never serve you poison.
You know, not like that, I'd go to the sink and I would just spit it out.
Ah The Rattle Skull.
[laughter]
I do think it gets better as I go further down.
Oh! It's getting better!
I hope you all have a safe and happy Halloween.
Be responsible, dress up as something clever, and thank you for watching.
These are clever! I'm a unicorn!
Cheers! Goodbye!
[music fades]