Inspired by Jack Torrance’s infamous “Here’s Johnny!” moment in The Shining, this bold cocktail blends spiced rum, grenadine, peach schnapps, Campari, and aquafaba to deliver a bitter-sweet, blood-red drink that captures the madness, menace, and dark humor of the snowbound Overlook Hotel. (Recipe Below)
What do you do with your family in an enormous hotel that's been snowed-in. Eat peaches out of the commercial-sized cans in the pantry? Write endless lines of poetry, or rather, the same line over and over again? Dance and have cocktails with the ghosts in the ballroom? No, play chase in the vibrating hallways with an ax and present yourself saying, "Here's Johnny!" . Jack knew how to treat his family to a good time and we've put that into a cocktail starting with Spiced Rum and grenadine to give it that "Red Rum" appeal, peach schnapps for those commercial sized cans of peaches, Campari for the bit of bitterness one might feel when getting interrupted while writing, and aquafaba to give it the body that Lloyd the Bartender (Joe Turkel) wishes he had and the perfect platform for the cinnamon-dusted Hick's Hexagon pattern of the hotel's carpet. So, how about a drink, Lloyd? Make a Here's Johnny and you'll be dancing like the Torrence's around the hotel and through the maze for a family activity you'll never forget.
Here’s Johnny!
1.5 oz (45mL) Spiced Rum
.5 oz (15mL) Peach Schnapps
.5 oz (15mL) Campari
.5 oz (15mL) Grenadine
1 oz (30mL) Aquafaba
Ground Cinnamon
Combine in a shaker tin, 1.5 oz Spiced Rum, .5 oz Peach Schnapps, .5 oz of Campari, .5 oz Grenadine and 1 oz Aquafaba. Add large ice, spring, large ice, cover and shake very vigorously for 30 seconds. Double strain into a coupe. Place a Hick's hexagon stencil on top and dust with ground cinnamon.
Grenadine Syrup
1 cup (8 oz, 240mL) Pomegranate Juice
1 cup (200 g) Organic Cane Sugar
In a small saucepan, combine Pomegranate Juice and Sugar over medium low heat. Stir to combine and allow to heat until the sugar has dissolved and very small bubbles appear, remove from heat and do not stir. Allow to cool to room temperature and strain into a syrup bottle.
Aquafaba for Cocktails
An Egg White Substitute for cocktails
1- 15 oz can Garbanzo Beans/Chickpeas 1
barspoon Cream of Tartar
Strain out the chickpeas using a fine mesh strainer. Pour chickpea brine in a clean and dry condiment bottle, add 1 tsp cream of tartar and stir gently to combine. Seal and store in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks. * A note on using aquafaba for cocktails: Gently swirl prepared aquafaba before use to redistribute the settled cream of tartar; acid such as citrus juice will be necessary for frothing emulsion.
-
Kraken Spiced Rum
94 proof/47% ABV
Proximo Spirits
Distilled from sugar cane molasses, aged, then blended with proprietary blend of spices. The result is a warming rum by flavor and alcohol burn. Vanilla and pie spice flavors accompany the warmth.
-
Peach Schnapps
30 proof/15% ABV
DeKuyper/Suntory Global Spirits
Known for its price point and its popularity in bars and restaurants. Peachtree is redistilled fruit brandy with other flavoring materials. It's flavor is syrupy sweet and reminiscent of tree-ripened peaches.
-
Campari Amaro
40 – 56 proof/ 20% - 28% ABV
Campari Group
Campari is made with a secret blend of bitter herbs, spices, fruit and citrus peels steeped with water and a neutral grain alcohol. After infusion it is blended with sugar, artificial food dye and additional spices to achieve its signature flavor of a grapefruit bitterness with hints of warming spices.
-
Grenadine
Grenadine is a common non-alcoholic beverage syrup used for its color, sweetness and syrup consistency. Commercially produced grenadine is more sweet and less citrusy from artisan made grenadine. Grenadine syrup is easy to make in small batches at home resulting in more pomegranate flavor.
-
Aquafaba
An Egg White Substitute for cocktails.
-
Ground Cinnamon
Ground cinnamon adds a warming and earthy flavor in the front bringing out fruit flavors towards the middle of the palate and bring chocolate flavors from the back towards the front. Ground Cinnamon can also add a texture in the form of grittiness when laid on top of the cocktail and a silkiness when suspended inside the cocktail.
A Toast to Terror: The Shining Reimagined with Overlook Hotel–Inspired Cocktails
The Shining is a classic horror movie that follows Jack Torrance, his family, and the terrifying isolation of the Overlook Hotel during a brutal winter in the Colorado Rockies. Inspired by the film’s eerie setting, the Overlook cocktail is a movie-inspired drink made with botanical gin, rosemary simple syrup, Mount Rigi liqueur, Cointreau, and Rumple Minze to evoke icy mountain air and piney forest flavors. Channeling the film’s most iconic scene, the Here’s Johnny cocktail blends spiced rum, grenadine, peach schnapps, Campari, and aquafaba for a bold, unsettling horror cocktail experience. These Shining-themed cocktails bring the atmosphere of Room 237, the Overlook Hotel, and Stanley Kubrick’s psychological thriller straight into your glass. Perfect for horror movie nights and film-themed cocktail lovers, these drinks turn The Shining into a chillingly immersive cocktail experience.
If you like this cocktail, you’ll love:
