Dead Man’s Kiss-a black vodka cocktail for Halloween

Halloween is as much an adult holiday as one for the children. That means adult parties, costumes, and cocktails. Up for a challenge, I thought I’d create a special Halloween cocktail by making a batch of black vodka.

Recently, I read an article that claimed finding Blavod, the only commercially made black vodka, was impossible. Blavod is a vodka that is colored by adding catechu, a herb found in southern Asia and central and east Africa.

As an alternative for Halloween cocktails, you could use food coloring to dye vodka black. The problem is that they tend to separate and sink to the bottom of the bottle. If you’ve worked with food coloring in cake decorating, food dyes tend to add an odd taste as well.

How to make black vodka

The article mentioned infusing vodka with black rice to make black vodka. I liked this idea as a natural alternative to artificial food dyes. Concerned about the rice giving off a bit of a taste, I chose a flavored marshmallow vodka. (Any flavored vodka should do, though I wanted to use marshmallow vodka in my Dead Man’s Kiss Cocktail.)

Black vodka – infused black rice method

To make black rice, place one cup of black rice in a clean quart sized Ball jar.

Fill the rest of the Ball jar with marshmallow vodka.

Store for 24 hours in a cool, shady area. Shake occasionally.

Drain contents of Ball jar over a fine mesh sieve into a pitcher or large quart measuring cup with a pouring spout. Toss the rice.

Wash out Ball jar and pour black vodka back into jar. Label jar and cap with a pouring spout.

You can leave the rice sitting in the vodka for a week or longer. However, a day is sufficient as the rice gives up most of its color after a day.

I felt a bit guilty throwing the rice away. I did taste a few kernels, and they were soft and flavorful. At the time I was leaving town for a business trip. If I was home, I would have saved the infused black rice leftovers, and tried to make an adult rice pudding dessert. Next time!

Making a Dead Man’s Kiss Cocktail

I loved how the black vodka turned out. The taste of the vodka was enhanced by the sweetness of the rice. I could detect a little bit of rice flavor, but since black rice is somewhat sweet it wasn't a problem.

As for the color, while it’s black in the Ball jar, in the glass, the black vodka is actually a very dark purple. Keeping this in mind, I didn’t want to lighten the liquid up by using cream or even a golden liqueur. Instead, I wanted to combine it with amber and dark colored libations.

I went to my local, well stocked liquor store for inspiration and settled on Sabroso Licor de Café, a Mexican coffee liqueur. I thought I’d add a touch of Frangelico, a hazelnut liqueur that I had at home. (If you are allergic to nuts, leave the Frangelico out or substitute it with a chocolate liqueur.)

But what to call this delightfully sweet black vodka Halloween cocktail recipe? As a tribute to one of my favorite shows, The Walking Dead, the name Dead Man’s Kiss seemed appropriate – a bit black, sweetly scary, and oh so enjoyable!

Ingredients

Red decorating sugar

Ice cubes

Directions

Place decorating sugar in a small dish. Turn the glass upside down and dip it into a small bowl of water. Dip the rim of glass into the sugar.

Carefully place ice cubes into the glass.

In a small measuring cup with a spout, mix the vodka, coffee liqueur and Frangelico together. Pour over ice and serve.

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Total Time: 5 Minutes

Servings: Makes 1 cocktail

Serving size: 2 ounce drink