Witch’s Brew Lemonade

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Cocktail History

The Witch’s Brew Lemonade is a Halloween cocktail that was first published on Delish, an online food and beverage blog. Inspired by the Sanderson Sisters’ brew from the Disney Channel original movie Hocus Pocus, it’s a simple recipe with a brilliant blue and purple hue thanks to its two main ingredients—butterfly pea blossom gin and blue curaçao. Both are mixed with fresh citrus and sparkling lemonade to create a drink fitting for spooky season.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Butterfly Pea Blossom Gin: This is the base spirit. It’s a type of gin made with juniper, butterfly pea blossom, ginger, grapefruit, spices, and alcohol. We used Victoria Distillers Empress 1908 Gin because it has light and refreshing juniper taste, herbal black tea flavor, and beautiful purple color. For a mocktail version of this drink, try butterfly pea blossom tea in place of the gin.

Sparkling Lemonade: This is a tart beverage made with lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. We went with IZZE Sparkling Lemonade because it’s very flavorful and is made with real citrus juice.

Blue Curaçao: This is an orange-flavored liqueur made with citrus, sugar, spices, blue food coloring, and a neutral grain spirit. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Monin Non-Alcoholic Blue Curaçao Syrup in place of the liqueur.

Lemon Juice: This adds sweet and sour citrus flavors for balance. We prefer to use fresh citrus juice because it’s less bitter than the bottled stuff and tastes better.

Rosemary: This is the garnish. It adds fragrant rosemary aroma.

Tasting Notes

The Witch’s Brew Lemonade features aromas of woodsy rosemary and effervescent lemon, has a light, lemony taste highlighting Empress Gin’s unique herbal and slightly spiced taste accompanied by a hint of orange, and goes down with a sweet-tart aftertaste of lemon and gin.

Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: The original recipe called for a full two ounces of blue curaçao, but we found that mixing significantly less with the lemonade and setting the gin neatly on top did the trick just as well, for looks and even more so for taste. While neither of us found it life-changing, the Witch’s Brew Lemonade is certainly tasty, easy, and great for serving at a festive Halloween party.

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Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.

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Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“We originally made this one with the exact recipe the source shared, which contained an astounding two ounces of blue curaçao; for those who have had the ingredient before, you’ll remember it for its almost sickly sugary orange flavor, and needless to say, it was entirely too much for a balanced drink. The slightly modified version came out a lot better. It still included all of the ingredients to make the beautifully layered cocktail your party needs, but with a flavor that is more able to showcase a lemonade flavor along with Empress 1908 Gin’s unique herbal qualities.”

Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“If you’re looking for drinks to serve at a Halloween party with your gal pals, this should probably be one of them! It’s got the wow factor as far as colors go, and it’s very easy to make. Its ingredient list also resembles many of the cocktails you probably enjoyed on a night together in college, so it’ll be palatable to most. Personally, I didn’t love this one because it’s not complex at all. Plus, I really don’t care for blue curaçao, but to each their own.”

Recipe

This cocktail recipe was adapted from Delish, an online food and beverage blog.

AuthorDelish

Yields1 ServingPrep Time5 mins

Ingredients
 2 oz Empress 1908 Gin
 4 oz Sparkling Lemonade
 ¼ oz Blue Curaçao
 ¼ oz Lemon Juice
 1 Rosemary Sprig

Method
1

Add sparkling lemonade, blue curaçao, lemon juice, and cracked ice to a highball glass.

2

Stir for 5-10 seconds.

3

Carefully float gin on top with a bar spoon.

4

Garnish with rosemary sprig.

Ingredients

Ingredients
 2 oz Empress 1908 Gin
 4 oz Sparkling Lemonade
 ¼ oz Blue Curaçao
 ¼ oz Lemon Juice
 1 Rosemary Sprig

Directions

Method
1

Add sparkling lemonade, blue curaçao, lemon juice, and cracked ice to a highball glass.

2

Stir for 5-10 seconds.

3

Carefully float gin on top with a bar spoon.

4

Garnish with rosemary sprig.

Witch’s Brew Lemonade

Make It a Mocktail: Use butterfly pea blossom tea in place of the gin and Monin Non-Alcoholic Blue Curaçao Syrup in place of the liqueur to try a booze-free version of this drink.

Tools & Glassware We Recommend

More Halloween Cocktails

If you like this Halloween cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:

Vampiro Cocktail Recipe

Vampiro: A tequila cocktail made with tomato juice, orange juice, lime juice, grenadine, hot sauce, salt, black pepper, and a lime slice

Butterbeer Cocktail Recipe

Butterbeer (Harry Potter): A stout beer and spiced rum cocktail made with evaporated milk, butter, margarine, vanilla extract, brown sugar, whole cloves, whole allspice berries, cinnamon sticks, whipped cream, and nutmeg

Empress Corpse Reviver No. 2 Cocktail Recipe

Empress Corpse Reviver No. 2: A gin cocktail made with triple sec, Lillet Blanc, lemon juice, absinthe, and an orange twist

Tatooine Sunset Cocktail Recipe

Tatooine Sunset (Star Wars): A tequila cocktail made with blue curaçao, pomegranate juice, grenadine, orange juice, lemon juice, and cherries

This post contains affiliate links, meaning we make a small commission each time you purchase a product using our links. Product images sourced from Amazon Product Advertising API. Amazon affiliate links last updated on 2023-03-20.

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