‘Wow’ guests for your Halloween party!
Are you looking for amazing, affordable, and easy to make spooky Halloween cocktails? Search no more, the secret ingredient is dry ice. A chip or two and it can create amazing smoke, fog, and bubble effects. What is dry ice? Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide gas. It is used primarily as a cooling agent. Dry ice is fairly safe to use in cocktails, but there are a few safety directions that you should follow.
1. Handle dry ice with gloves or tongs, touching with direct skin contact can cause severe burns.
2. Wear eye protection when working with dry ice.
3. Do not put dry ice in your mouth, it may cause severe burns.
4. Do not inhale the vapour. Dry ice liberates large quantity of CO2 vapour which may cause confusion, dizziness, suffocation, and even death.
Where to buy dry ice?
Dry ice is fairly easy to find in Canada and the US, and not very expensive. You can buy it at your local ice store. Generally, it comes in a 5 pound block. The cost varies from $1.50 to $5.00 a pound. I got my block (5 lbs) for $15.00 in Victoria BC at SinplyPureWater. You may ask the attendant to break the block in pieces so you won’t need the cutting board, hammer, and chiesel required to chip the ice. I transported the dry ice in a regular cooler. I could have made 60 + drinks with the amount of ice that I bought.
Experimenting with dry ice.
Working with dry ice is fun and it feels like working with styrofoam. A piece between 3/4 to 1 inch size works well in a martini style glass. Make your drink as usual and just before serving, with tongs, drop a piece into the glass. It will smoke and look really cool. Don’t forget, you should drink the cocktail with a straw. Dry ice has different effects with different liquids, also it can change the flavour of your drink. It is not very effective with heavy juices such as orange juice and pineapple juice. Use with dairy liquid, the dry ice forms bubbles that look like plastic.
Spook-tacular Halloween cocktails that you might like Hocus Pocus Potion and Scarytini.
Work safely and have fun creating your spooky potions. Happy Halloween!
Cheers!