The Black Death is a dark, velvety, oddly delicious Halloween cocktail that you’ll never forget: gin, fernet, and pastis shaken with a whole egg and a barspoon of activated charcoal, which is what turns the drink black and gives it a smooth, almost dessert-like texture. It’s complex, creamy, and carries real notes of anise, with the haunting darkness of a moonless night.
What Is Fernet?
Fernet is a type of amaro, a dark, bitter, and intensely aromatic Italian herbal liqueur. It is typically stronger and less sweet than most other amari, so you’ll find it at 40-45% ABV. It comes from a secret blend of herbs and spices that usually includes myrrh, chamomile, saffron, and rhubarb. Its flavor is complex, earthy, and highly bitter, with a minty finish. The best-known brand, Fernet-Branca, was formulated in Milan in 1845 by herbalist Bernardino Branca and is still made from a closely guarded, 27-ingredient recipe.
What Is Pastis?
Pastis is an anise-flavored spirit and aperitif that is also a cultural icon of Southern France, particularly Marseille. It comes from a blend of alcohol, star anise, licorice root, and other herbs and spices. Pastis ABV runs between 40-45% and it is usually diluted with water. When water is added, the clear, amber-colored spirit turns a cloudy, pale yellow, a reaction known as the louche effect.
Why This Cocktail Works: Meet Its Creator
Behind this drink is Raoul Segarra, and the originality of its creator comes through in every sip. He’s not just a bartender: he’s a bit of a poet accustomed to plumbing the depths of the human mind, and that sensibility shows in a cocktail built to be experienced slowly, in dim, moody light, rather than knocked back. The charcoal does double duty here, turning the drink black and giving it a smooth, almost dessert-like texture that catches people off guard in the best way.
Why You’ll Love the Black Death
It’s genuinely unforgettable. The jet-black color and velvety texture make this one of the most visually striking cocktails on any Halloween menu. It’s complex, not just spooky. Fernet’s bitterness and pastis’s anise play against each other in a way that rewards slow sipping. The texture is the whole point. Activated charcoal and a whole egg combine to give the drink an almost dessert-like, velvety mouthfeel that most cocktails simply don’t have. And it’s a conversation piece. Nobody expects a drink this dark to taste this good.
Ingredient Notes: Activated Charcoal and Egg White Technique
Activated charcoal. A barspoon of food-safe activated charcoal is what turns this cocktail black. It’s flavorless in the small quantities used here, so its job is entirely visual and textural, contributing to that smooth, almost dessert-like body alongside the egg.
Whole egg, double-shaken. Shaking a cocktail once with a whole egg and once again after adding ice, sometimes called a “double shake,” is a classic technique for building a silky, foamy texture without any dairy. The first dry shake emulsifies the egg; the second, wet shake chills and dilutes the drink.
Tips for Making the Black Death
Use a food-safe activated charcoal. Buy activated charcoal sold specifically for food or drink use, not an industrial or medicinal-grade product, and measure it carefully; too much can make the texture chalky.
Double shake for the best texture. Shake the ingredients once without ice to emulsify the egg, then add ice and shake again until well chilled. This is what gives the finished drink its velvety, almost dessert-like body.
Fine strain into a Nick and Nora glass. A fine mesh strainer keeps the texture silky by catching any ice shards or charcoal grit, and the glass’s narrow bowl shows off the drink’s jet-black color.
Consider a pasteurized egg. Because the egg is shaken raw rather than cooked, using a pasteurized egg reduces the small salmonella risk, especially if you’re serving pregnant guests, young children, older adults, or anyone immunocompromised.
Looking for more? Try our The Witch’s Brew and Van Helsing Takes Manhattan, see all the Halloween Cocktails Perfect for Spooky Season, and browse TABLE’s Cocktails.
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Black Death Cocktail
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 cocktail 1x
Description
Gin, fernet, and pastis shaken with a whole egg and activated charcoal for a dark, velvety, dessert-like Halloween cocktail. Strained into a Nick and Nora glass.
Ingredients
- 1 oz dry gin
- .5 oz fernet
- .5 oz pastis
- .25 oz simple syrup
- .25 barspoon activated charcoal
- 1 whole egg (pasteurized recommended)
Instructions
- Double shake: shake all ingredients once without ice to emulsify the egg, then add ice and shake again until well chilled.
- Use a fine strainer to pour into a Nick and Nora glass. Garnish with nutmeg.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Cocktail, drink
- Method: Double shaken
- Cuisine: American, Italian and French-inspired
Nutrition
- Calories: 230
Black Death Cocktail FAQs
What makes this cocktail black?
A small amount of food-safe activated charcoal turns the drink jet black. In these quantities it’s flavorless, so its role is purely visual and textural.
Why does the recipe use a whole egg?
The whole egg, combined with the double-shake technique, gives the cocktail its smooth, almost dessert-like, velvety texture without any dairy.
Is it safe to drink a cocktail with raw egg?
Raw eggs carry a small salmonella risk. Using a pasteurized egg reduces that risk, which is especially worth doing for pregnant guests, young children, older adults, or anyone immunocompromised.
What does this cocktail taste like?
Complex and bitter-forward, with real anise notes from the pastis balanced against fernet’s earthy, minty bitterness and a velvety, dessert-like finish from the charcoal and egg.
About the Recipe Author
Raoul Segarra is not just a bartender. He’s an experienced distiller and a bit of a poet accustomed to plumbing the depths of the human mind. That originality comes through in every cocktail he creates.
About the Story Author
Keith Recker is Editor in Chief and Co-Owner of TABLE Magazine. A color and trend forecaster for nearly 20 years, his clients have included Pantone, WGSN, Stylus, and the Color Association of the United States. He is the author of three books on color, including Deep Color: The Shades That Shape Our Souls and True Colors: World Masters of Natural Dyes and Pigments, and co-founder of the Open Source Colour Association. Read more of his work here or contact him at keith@tablemagazine.com. Keith revised and expanded this article for TABLE’s Halloween 2026 coverage.
About the Photographer
Dave Bryce is TABLE Magazine’s contributing architecture, interiors, and food photographer, based in Pittsburgh. He photographed Fallingwater: Living with and In Art (Rizzoli, 2025) and regularly shoots for Pittsburgh Magazine and American Farmhouse Style, working with architects, interior designers, and hospitality brands. See more at davebrycephotography.com.
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