Halloween Cocktails: "The Giant Huntsman" by Lauren Mote

Not everyone finds spiders scary, but I certainly do and therefore find a drink named after the largest spider in the world to be fitting for Halloween. Lauren Mote from Kale & Nori (read more what they do here in the series on their Bittered Sling Extracts) brings us a cocktail in her complex culinary style using Oolong tea, yuzu juice, and her "Denman Bitters," featuring Asian spices. The arachnid after which the drink is named has over a 12 inch legspan making it the largest spider by size in the world (the largest by mass is the Goliath Birdeater).  

"Inspired by the largest spider of them all, with the same name. It's a big cave-dweller, with super long legs, and just discovered in the last 12 years in Laos. This cocktail includes some gorgeous ingredients inspired by the region, but you'll never think about spiders the same way again. It's refreshingly complex, balanced, and will leave you terrified of other cocktails.

The Giant Huntsman

1 oz Beefeater 24 Gin
1 oz Lillet
1 dash "Bittered Sling" Denman Bitters
0.75 oz “O5 Tea” Osmanthus Oolong Syrup
0.5 oz Yuzu Juice

Shake all ingredients together with ice, and service in a chilled cocktail glass. 
Garnish with a lemon cheek (spray the oils over the cocktail surface, and slide along the rim).

Oolong Syrup Method:
7 tsp of Oolong, steeped for 10 minutes in 1L of water. Strain, and mix the water with equal parts of white sugar until dissolved. Place into refrigerator for up to 10 days, and use as required.

Lauren recommends using O5 tea for the Oolong, which you can find at www.o5tea.com.
As for the Denman Bitters, click here to see current retailers, and be sure to check out the Bittered Sling Series for more cocktail ideas.

The Fall Series:

You can see the series introduction here
and more terrible Halloween cocktails here
"Death & Oranges" by Donnie Wheeler
"Jones' Bitter Aperitif" by Evelyn Chick 
"The Satchmo" by Simon Ogden 
"Dark City" by Jay Jones 
Classic Halloween Cocktails 
"The Bay Harbour Butcher" by Shaun Layton 
"A Nightmare On Juniper Street" by Shea Hogan