October is the month the whole mood of drinking changes. The clocks are about to go back, the evenings arrive before you are ready for them, and the instinct shifts from something cold in the garden to something darker, richer and slower in a warm room. Halloween sits right in the middle of it, which is either an excuse for a party or an excuse to stay in. Both work.
This month the Wine Rack range reads like a cast list. Ghost ships, hobgoblins, dead men’s fingers, a kraken and a cellar full of convicts. There is a serious ale deal, a spiced rum shelf that covers every style worth knowing, and reds built for the first properly cold night of the year. Here is everything worth knowing.
The ale deal is the strongest thing in store this month, and the line-up could not be better suited to the season if it had been commissioned for it.
Adnams Ghost Ship 4.1% 500ml is named after a haunted pub on the Suffolk coast, and it is a genuinely excellent pale ale underneath the story. Citrus-forward, light on its feet and far easier drinking than its 4.1% suggests.
Iron Maiden Trooper Ale 500ml and Trooper IPA 6% 500ml bring Eddie to the table. The original Trooper is a malty, slightly sweet British ale brewed with Bruce Dickinson’s input. The IPA is the bigger, hoppier, more bitter sibling, and at 6% it is one to sip rather than session.
Then there is the Hobgoblin trio, which is about as on-theme as beer gets. Hobgoblin Ruby 4.5% 500ml is the classic, full-bodied and toffee-ish with a dark fruit finish. Hobgoblin Gold 500ml is the lighter, crisper alternative for anyone who finds Ruby too rich. Hobgoblin IPA 500ml sits between the two, hoppier and sharper.
All six are 3 for £7, or 8 for £18, which works out at £2.25 a bottle on the larger deal. Buying eight and covering the whole party in one go is the obvious move.
If one spirit owns Halloween, it is spiced rum. Dark, warming, built for cola and ginger beer, and almost always in a bottle that looks the part.
Dead Man’s Fingers Spiced 70cl is the one everyone recognises, skull and all. Warm vanilla and spice, smooth enough to drink with nothing more than ice. Dead Man’s Fingers Golden Spiced 70cl is the lighter, softer expression, a little sweeter and a natural match for ginger beer.
Kraken Black Spiced 70cl is the darkest of the group and the most dramatic in a glass. Thick, almost black, with coffee, molasses and a long spiced finish. It makes the best looking rum and cola you will pour all year.
19 Crimes Spiced Rum 70cl brings the same convict storytelling as the wines, with a rich, rounded spice profile that works equally well neat or long.
And for anyone who would rather head somewhere warmer, Sierra Tequila Blanco 50cl is the clean, peppery agave option. Lime, ice and soda for a Paloma, or shake it with lime and triple sec for a margarita that cuts straight through a heavy evening.
Three reds this month, and each one earns its place on atmosphere as much as flavour.
19 Crimes The Banished 75cl and 19 Crimes The Uprising 75cl continue the series built around real convicts transported to Australia in the eighteenth century. The Banished is dark fruited and smooth with a soft vanilla finish. The Uprising is the bolder of the two, aged in rum barrels, which gives it a sweet, spiced depth that is unmistakable. Both labels come alive through the app, which is a genuine talking point on a night when people are looking for one.
Diablo Dark Cabernet Sauvignon 75cl is the devil in the wine rack. Full-bodied, inky and intense, with blackcurrant, dark chocolate and a firm structure that stands up to anything rich you put in front of it. It is also the right bottle to warm with spices if the evening calls for it.
You do not need a cocktail bar to make Halloween feel like an occasion. Three serves, all built from the bottles above, none of them complicated.
The quickest of the three and the best looking. Fill a tall glass with ice, add 50ml Dead Man’s Fingers Spiced Rum and a squeeze of fresh lime, top with ginger beer, then pour 15ml of blackcurrant cordial slowly over the back of a spoon so it sinks through the drink. Do not stir afterwards. The point is the way it bleeds down the glass.
A jug serve for when the house is full. Combine a bottle of 19 Crimes The Banished with 100ml 19 Crimes Spiced Rum and 200ml apple juice in a large jug. Add sliced orange, sliced red apple and a handful of blackberries, then chill for at least an hour so the fruit infuses. Add ice just before serving.
The one that fills the house with the right smell. Pour a bottle of Diablo Dark Cabernet Sauvignon into a pan with orange slices, two cinnamon sticks, four cloves and two star anise. Warm gently for 15 to 20 minutes without letting it boil, then stir in honey to taste and ladle into heatproof glasses.
Halloween is one night. The season it kicks off runs until February, and it is arguably the better half of the deal.
The formula for a proper night in is simpler than people make it. One bottle worth opening slowly, which this month means a Hobgoblin Ruby or a glass of The Uprising. One spirit for later, poured over a single large cube. Something warm in reserve for when the temperature drops, which is where the mulled red earns its place.
Add a fire if you have one, a film you have seen before, and the heating on slightly earlier than strictly necessary. The dark evenings stop being something to put up with and start being the point.
Whether you are stocking up for Halloween night, buying eight ales for £18 because the maths is too good to ignore, or simply opening something dark and slow on a Tuesday, Wine Rack has the range to match the season.
Pop into your local store, explore what is new and discover more with Wine Rack.
Discover more with Wine Rack.
What ales are on offer at Wine Rack for Halloween? Adnams Ghost Ship, Iron Maiden Trooper Ale, Trooper IPA, Hobgoblin IPA, Hobgoblin Gold and Hobgoblin Ruby are all 500ml and available at 3 for £7 or 8 for £18.
What is the best spiced rum for Halloween? Kraken Black Spiced is the darkest and most dramatic in a glass. Dead Man’s Fingers Spiced is the most recognisable, and its Golden Spiced expression is lighter and sweeter for ginger beer serves.
What is the difference between Hobgoblin Ruby and Hobgoblin Gold? Ruby is full-bodied and toffee-ish with a dark fruit finish. Gold is lighter, crisper and more refreshing. Hobgoblin IPA sits between the two with more hop bitterness.
What wine should I serve at Halloween? A bold red. 19 Crimes The Uprising is aged in rum barrels for a sweet, spiced depth, and Diablo Dark Cabernet Sauvignon is full-bodied enough to warm with spices as a mulled wine.
How do I make a Halloween cocktail look like blood? Pour blackcurrant cordial or grenadine slowly over the back of a spoon into a finished drink and do not stir. It sinks and bleeds through rather than mixing in.
What is 19 Crimes wine? A range built around real convicts transported to Australia in the eighteenth century, with labels that come to life through the 19 Crimes app. The Banished and The Uprising are both available in 75cl.