The Emperor’s New Groove* is one of our favorite movies, While thematically it isn’t really a Halloween movie, the villainess, Yzma, is “scary beyond all reason”. The plot follows the self centered ruler, Kuzco, who soon into the film, decides to let Yzma go. Instead of taking this news in stride, Yzma plans to take over the Kingdom by poisoning Kuzco. Only, Kuzco’s Poison doesn’t quite end up being poison, but rather Extract of Llama. The film follows the adventures of the ruler following their little mix-up.
In the spirit of the holiday, we’ve chosen to recreate this potion, only less poison / transformation based, and more entertaining your guests focused.
Kuzco’s Poison
Kuzco’s Poison is fruity, sweet, bright, and ever so slightly bitter. The passionfruit pops out in a starring role with plenty of raspberry supporting. The lime gives levity and the pisco – Campari mix gives an herbal, grape brandy like underpinning. As a shot, it’s entertaining and perfect for turning your guests into llamas!
Drink Notes & Recommendations
The first thing to note is that this doesn’t fluorescently glow. We used glow cubes to help add more color, but you can see the original color in the photo above. What it lacks in exact color match, it makes up in being delicious and easy going as a shot that won’t overwhelm your guests with booze. The recipe will make anywhere from a minimum of 2 to up to 3 vials (depending on your dilution). The design is for “two shots”.
- Macchu Pisco – Pisco here is adding some fermented / distilled grape flavors to the drink while also giving a bit of a heavy underpinning. While Macchu has some bite, and it’s the best out there, it’s widely available, and plays it’s role of backdrop well here.
- Lime Juice – For best results, use fresh squeezed.
- Passoa Passion Fruit Liqueur – Passionfruit liqueur are few and far between, and Passoa has been hanging around our bar for a while. We used it here for color and to give a mysterious flavor to the shot. If you can’t find Passoa, our backup bottle is Pinaq Tropical liqueur. Feel free to find what’s available in your local area though. Use the leftovers to try a Yeah Baby, our riff on a Porn Star Martini.
- Campari – While there are no direct substitutes for Campari, you can play around with another amaro – such as Aperol or something else that features a strong red color. The intention is to add a bit of depth of color and bitterness.
- Raspberry Syrup – The recipe is listed below, but for this recipe we strongly suggest you muddle the raspberries to add color. You can also use this to make a Clover Club if you’re looking for another application.
- Glassware – We used vials we found on Amazon* which cost about $9 for 12 of them. If you don’t want to pay for the vials, feel free to serve this drink in a standard shot glass.
- Glow Cubes – If you’re looking to use glow cubes to adjust the color, we used Windy City Novelties glow cubes*. These are the same glow cubes as used by Disney, and we highly recommend them!
Raspberry Syrup
- 120 g sugar
- 120 g water
- 40 g raspberries
Combine water, sugar, and raspberries in a small mason jar or sous vide bag. If using a mason jar, you may gently muddle the raspberries with the sugar for added color and flavor. Seal, and heat for 2 hours @ 135. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and coffee filter. If desired, add a neutral grain spirit at 5-10% of the finished weight as a preservative. Refrigerate. Dispose of if any clouding or mold develops.
Looking for more Halloween Cocktail ideas? Check out our past year’s cocktails!
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