Following up Mary Sanderson’s Cocktail, we’re featuring Sarah Sanderson from Disney’s Hocus Pocus*. Sarah Sanderson is the youngest Sanderson Sister, and the most bubbly and sweet of the three. That is when she’s not busy running amuck (amuck, amuck, amuck!). From being Billy’s Butcherson’s lover to flirting with Satan and the Bus Driver, the bright, lively personality served as the inspiration for this cocktail, where classic fall flavors meet Sarah’s fun, energetic character.
Hocus Pocus Cocktails: Sarah Sanderson
Sarah Sanderson’s cocktail is sweet, bubbly, spiced, layered, and ease to enjoy. Beautiful notes of poached pear, cinnamon, bright lemon, and caramelized sugars all come together harmoniously. The subtle spices from the bitters bounce off the pear and Riesling undertones to meld into a beautiful fall set of flavors. The spicing throughout the drink is very dessert like and delicate in character, but the sparkling helps to keep the drink bright and bubbly
Drink Notes & Recommendations
Sarah Sanderon’s cocktail is all upfront work, meaning you’ll have an easier time making this for your guests. The biggest factors to keep in mind are chilling your wine before hand, and making the syrup. Everything else is optional (such as the sugar rim) or simple (like building this drink write in the glass).
- Pear Riesling Syrup – This may be one of the most involved syrups we’ve created. The recipe is below (and results in dessert), but if you absolutely have to, you could probably substitute Pear Liqueur here. It won’t have the complexity, but could work in a pinch.
- Dry Sparkling Wine – We used a prosecco here, but any dry sparkling wine should work. You can go as expensive as champagne, or as economical as Cava. Feel free to also go spirit-free with alcohol free sparkling wine to make this a mocktail. I do not recommend sparkling grape juice as that will make this too sweet (ditto for Moscato d’Asti or other sweet sparkling wines).
- Bitterman’s ‘Elemakule Tiki Bitters – These tiki bitters add a wonderful aromatic element to the combination that elevates both the pear and the wine. They’re readily available at Amazon*. We tested several aromatic bitters during our process and found these worked best (and are great for Tiki drinks). We found that Regan’s offered good success (Amazon – Regan’s*), and Boker’s (Amazon*) could work for those that like a more cardamom forward note.
Pear Riesling Syrup
This syrup is significantly more work that most syrups we normally create. That said, I promise you this is an amazing and complex syrup that you can enjoy not only in this drink, but also for the dessert it creates. The pears you have at the end are delicious with ice cream.
- 4 medium – large pears (1.5 – 2 lbs), peeled (Bosc / Red Anjou)
- 750ml Riesling
- 250ml Water
- 200g Honey
- 1 Cinnamon Stick (approximately 3-4″)
- 16 oz Sugar
How To Make Pear Riesling Syrup:
- In a sauce pan, combine wine, water, honey, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil.
- While bringing to a boil, peel, core, and cut the pears in half.
- Gently lower the pears into the poaching liquid. Turn the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20-25 minute or until the pears can be easily pierced with a paring knife.
- Turn off the heat, and remove the pears and cinnamon stick from the poaching liquid (the pears maybe eaten with ice cream, the cinnamon stick should be discarded).
- Filter the poaching liquid through a fine mesh strainer and filter (or nut milk bag).
- Combine 16 oz of the filtered poaching liquid and 16 oz in a sauce pan. Any remaining liquid should stored with the poached pears.
- Bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat to medium and continue to boil / simmer for 5 minutes. Reduce or turn off heat if the syrup begins to foam toward the top of the pan. The goal is to caramelize some of the sugars in this 5 minute period.
- After 5 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool. Yields approximately 27 oz. Add ½ oz of overproof grain spirit for added preservation if desired. Refrigerate.
Glassware and Sugar
Any standard sized wine flute will due for this task, but if you want to be really fancy and drink like the Sanderson Sisters, why not use these amazing Skeleton Stemmed Champagne Glasses* (like the one in the photo). These flutes are thick, heavy, and feel almost handmade. The detail is quite impressive, and they feel solid and weighty like they’re truly premium. They’ll make great spooky decor even if you’re not using them for drinks.
The sugar we used to create the rim can be found at Amazon*, but you should be able to use any local honey you have.
Preparation for Parties:
To prep for a party:
- Chill wine in advance, keep in the fridge or an ice bath.
- Place stirrers and wine flutes near the wine and syrup (while slightly on the shorter end, the skeleton hand swizzles from Mary’s drink will work for this task. You can find them at Amazon*).
- Set up directions for how to pour your own (instead of 5 oz, tell guests to fill the glass or to taste).
- To limit the amount of syrup, consider getting 1 oz pour spouts (such as these).
* – This link is an affiliate link which may result in us getting a partial commission from the sale. We’ve had an amazing October 2023 thanks to you the readers, with over $10 in earnings this month. That said in 2022 we made $13.34 from affiliate links and made $20.40 so far in 2023, while we’ve spent well over $200 on just webhosting. Please continue to help us keep the lights on if you like our content, and use our links if you plan on making purchases from Amazon!