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Forecasts that the summer will last till Halloween might turn out to be flaky hocus-pocus, but publicans can, at least, be sure that as October transmogrifies into November they’ll have the opportunity to create a bit of magic.
Halloween this year is perfectly timed. On a Friday, it gives you a chance to extend the event through the weekend. And if you’re lucky enough to have enough outdoor space for a bonfire and fireworks, or have a public display nearby, you can keep stirring the pot till Guy Fawkes Night the following Wednesday.
The occasion has certainly grown in importance for the pub trade, and it’s a big time for drinks brands that can claim an association with the spooky. Hobgoblin, Wychwood Brewery’s self-styled unofficial beer of Halloween for the ninth year, is planning its biggest ‘Season of Mischief’ campaign yet, with 7,000 point-of-sale (PoS) kits for a new ‘Wheel of Misfortune’ promotion being distributed to pubs.
Your beer order will come with a pumpkin handpull top, a Halloween pump sleeve and a flashing pumpclip, plus T-shirts, bar runners and beer mats. Drinkers will Phil Mellows speaks to licensees and brand owners to find out ways pubs can increase footfall during both Halloween and bonfire night be invited to audition for one of four live Wheel of Misfortune shows broadcast on the web on 31 October where they’ll get the chance to win £5,000 and prizes like sheepskin coats, fondue sets and canteens of cutlery — mocking TV game shows of the past.
Burnley brewer Moorhouse’s, which has taken ownership of the legend of the Pendle Witches who roamed the nearby hills at the end of the 17th century, is also gearing up for a record-breaking sales surge in October with a special stronger version of its Black Cat cask ale. With Polish Junga hops adding a dash of dark cherry and blackcurrant, Black Cat Reserve will be generally available at 4.6% abv, rising to 7% for a limited, extra-strength cask issue for key accounts.
The roll out has been supported with sampling roadshows at pubs and PoS that includes a black cat pumpclip and a witch handpull topper. It will also feature alongside the rest of the Moorhouse’s range and guests at a Halloween beer festival at the brewery on 3 to 4 October. Last year, the brewer’s sales exceeded £500,000, says managing director David Grant. “Halloween is the third-busiest trading season in the year after Christmas and Easter. Licensees that don’t do anything to mark it are missing a trick.”
With hobgoblins and witches covered, Jägermeister — suited to the event with its orange and black branding and origins shrouded in legend — is turning to the undying appeal of another member of the Halloween cast, the zombie.
To help licensees throw a party with a difference, it is offering 1,350 zombie PoS packs, each is free with 12 bottles of Jägermeister. They include zombie make-up kits and scar tattoos for staff, cobwebs, T-shirts, posters, tent cards and bar runners, plus a drinks menu featuring two special Jägermeister cocktails, the Zombie Stopper (25ml Jägermeister, lemonade, Blackcurrant and a squeeze of lime juice) and the Brain Drain (25ml Jägermeister, 25ml Curaco, pineapple juice and a lime wedge). In addition, each pub will get 40 customer giveaways, a mix of glow sticks and bracelets, friendship bracelets and Jägermeister keyrings that double as bottle openers.
There’ll be a prize for pubs, too, rewarding the best-dressed Halloween team — a case of Jägermeister plus £500 towards the staff Christmas party. And your customers can join in by posting pictures of their zombie- look on Instagram, with the chance to win a zombie battle experience and 200 Jägermeister hats for runners-up. WKD, meanwhile, is introducing four wicked cocktails, served, of course, in cauldrons designed to be shared by four friends or fiends. The ‘Witch Cocktail Cauldron?’ selection includes WKD Pumpkin Grin (WKD Iron Brew, whisky, lime, lemonade, ice) and WKD Zombie Zinger (WKD Red, vodka, lime cordial, cola, ice).
To help staff prepare them quickly at busy times, a mixing guide is provided along with a range of PoS including banners, posters, mobiles and table talkers. “The emerging popularity of the RTD cocktail is probably one of the biggest drinks trends we are seeing at the moment,” says marketing director Debs Carter.
“One benefit is that it provides excellent growth opportunities for licensees. RTD cocktails are quick and easy to make, they offer good margins and the theatre around them can’t readily be replicated at home.”
If you’re planning a more sophisticated style of Halloween or bonfire night celebration, increasingly popular whisky-based cocktails could give you the right sort of feel.
Here are a couple of ideas, courtesy of the Maxxium stable.
Orcadian Sour
Ingredients:
- 2 shots Highland Park 12-Year-Old
- 1 shot freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ shot sugar (gomme) syrup
- Dash(es) of Bitters (optional)
- ½ egg white (optional)
Method: Shake the Highland Park with the lemon juice, sugar syrup and ice and pour into a short glass.
The Amber Glow
Ingredients:
- 50ml The Macallan Amber
- 20ml Bols Dry Orange
- Dash of barrel-aged bitters
- Ice
Method: Take a whisky tumbler, stir The Macallan Amber with the Bols Dry Orange liqueur, add a dash of barrelaged bitters and serve over ice.