About
What is WitchCraft Cocktails?
WitchCraft Cocktails is a blog, created by magical mixologist Julia Halina, exploring the in-between of where witchcraft meetings craft cocktails. Featuring regular blog recipes and video content on how to make WITCHcraft cocktails that celebrate everything from astrological signs, to the turn of the seasons, and more!
Why WitchCraft Cocktails?
On the eve of the full moon, modern witches, pagans, and spiritualists gather their herbs, crystals, and tools to celebrate the seasonal changes. They might welcome the herbal steam of a seasonally-inspired hot tea or cider, clutched in their hands as they greet the morning sun or the moon at night. Or perhaps they split herbal cakes and pass glasses of spiced wine to friends, sharing in the harvest bounty to celebrate achievements at summer’s end.
Like many modern witchcraft practices, the celebration of magic and ritual with herbal beverages extends deep into human history. Alcoholic spirits were considered an important ritual offering to various deities and thought to have alchemical, magical effects. Sharing food and beverages was, and still is for many people, a sacred act of bonding, in enjoying the bounty of the earth
With the revival of the craft cocktail scene in the bartending world, it’s time these ancient practices get a similar modern transformation. Why not gather the corresponding herbs and crystals, and infuse them into alcohols or syrups under the full moon, instead of just infusing rain water? Why not mix these empowered concoctions into a magical beverage, to inspire friendship amongst a group, to entice love and boldness with a lover, or to invite psychic powers before divination?
As an avid witch pursuing bartending on a whim, I quickly became inspired by the craft cocktail movement in San Francisco. The endless variety of herbal and fruity cordials, the fresh squeezed juices and steeped syrups, the infusion of herbs into alcohol; it was natural to want to combine the world of witchcraft and craft cocktails. This blog was born from behind the bar, as she experimented with magical mixology, and has now formed into a book, WitchCraft Cocktails.
About the Author
Julia Halina Hadas is a practicing witch and avid craft cocktail fanatic and bartender. Having worked at a distillery and as a craft cocktail bartender in the San Francisco Bay Area, she combined her love of the craft cocktail movement with her witchcraft practice. She holds a BA in anthropology, and is a certified crystal healer, shamanic, and reiki practitioner. You can learn more at her author website, JuliaHalinaHadas.com