"One Stormy Night" Cocktail (Inspired by "Poltergeist") (BOTB 2022 Day 22) Recipe

 

Bring Out the Boos 2022

Day 22: "One Stormy Night" Cocktail (Inspired by "Poltergeist")

By: The Film Bartender

    Tobe Hooper's 1982 film "Poltergeist" is known for many things. It has instilled the fear of closets being open, clown dolls, swimming pools full of skeletons, and much more into the viewer when they went and saw it in theaters for the first time. And, who can forget the little girl putting her hands on the television set in the living room and announcing the presence of the ghosts by saying, "They're here!" Our drink for Day 22 of my "Bring Out the Boos 2022" Halloween event is inspired by the night everything goes wrong for the Freeling family, with a drink called "One Stormy Night". Keep reading to see the full recipe for this delicious drink!

    "Poltergeist" was released in 1982 and was directed by Tobe Hooper based off a screenplay by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais, and Mark Victor. Even though Hooper is credited as the director for this film, there has been much speculation and confirmation by the cast members on this film that Spielberg shadow-directed the film, due to his prior contractual obligations with Universal to make "E.T. the Extra Terrestrial". The movie starred Heather O'Rourke, JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Zelda Rubinstein, Dominique Dunne, Oliver Robbins, and Beatrice Straight. 

    The movie opens on a normal suburban family, with the father being the realtor that sells the homes in the neighborhood they live in. They live a seemingly normal life, with the kids going to school, the father going to work, and the mother taking care of young Carol Anne. However, on one night, there is a major storm that seems to wreck havoc in their home and the backyard, causing a tree to break through a window and snatch up the son, Robbie, and suck Carol Anne into the vortex in her closet.

    Now unsure of what to do to get their little girl back, Diane and Steve Freeling contact paranormal experts to help them with their situation. The experts come to the house, and find that there are numerous evil spirits inhabiting their house, and they want the Freeling's youngest daughter to help guide them to the light. When the spirits seem very hostile and refuse to give the family back their daughter and sister, the experts and the Freeling family must do everything they possibly can to rescue Carol Anne, and get rid of the spirits inhabiting the house for good.

    The film was very positively received by both critics and moviegoers alike, and some hail it as one of the best and scariest horror films from the 1980s. From there, many of the tropes found in the movie, as well as specific plot elements, are heavily referenced and parodied in today's society, including the portal in the closet and the demented clown doll. The movie garnered so much success and praise that sequels were made for this film, following the Freeling family once again as the spirits try to possess Carol Anne. However, after numerous tragedies and disturbing accidents while filming these movies and after filming, including the untimely deaths of Dunne and O'Rourke, only two other sequels were made before the story died out.

    However, in 2015, Gil Kenan made a reboot to this classic horror film, starring Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Kennedi Clements, Jared Harris, Kyle Catlett, and Saxon Sharbino. Even though the film basically redid the plot from the film its inspired by, Kenan decided to change all the characters and setting, making it his own and placing it in modern times. This includes watching a drone fly into the alternate dimension and trying to find the young girl trapped. As can be expected, this movie was panned by both audiences and critics alike, receiving only a 22% and 29% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively. 

    This drink is solely inspired by that one stormy night where everything changed for the Freeling family. They lost their daughter to the other dimension, which practically flipped their lives upside down. This drink perfectly represents the sharp taste of that night, while also giving off colors that will make the consumer believe they are actually consuming a stormy night in a glass.

Ingredients:

- 4 oz Ginger Beer

- 2 oz Whiskey

- 10 Blueberries

- 1/2 oz Simple Syrup

- 1/2 oz Lime Juice

- Purple Sprinkles (for rim)

- White Sprinkles (for rim)

Directions:

1. On a rocks glass, wet the rim and place it face down on a plate mixed with purple and white sprinkles to create the rim. 

2. Fill the rocks glass 3/4 of the way with Ginger Beer, leaving enough room for the rest of the ingredients to be added.

3. In a cocktail shaker, add the Whiskey, the Blueberries, the Simple Syrup, and the Lime Juice. Using a muddler, crush the blueberries inside the liquid. 

4. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds until well combined. Strain into the prepared rocks glass over the ginger beer. 

5. Stir all of the concoction together. 

6. Serve. 

Film Fact: Real human skeletons were used in the swimming pool scene, since the crew decided it would be too complicated and expensive to use fake ones. JoBeth Williams was not made aware of this until after she finished filming the scene. 

    Now you have made you very own concoction based off the classic paranormal horror film! This drink is sure to add some spookiness to your next Halloween Party, or to add a kick whenever you rewatch this classic film this Halloween season! Let me know in the comments below or on Instagram what you think of this drink and this famous horror film!

    This is Day 22 of my "Bring Out the Boos 2022" Halloween Event, where I make a drink everyday for the month of October to celebrate this spooky holiday! All of my previous drinks in this series are found under the "Bring Out the Boos 2022" tab, and we still have nine more days of Halloween-themed film drinks to come! Check back tomorrow to find the next recipe in this year's Halloween series! Until then, happy drinking!