You know that shiver going down your back on an eerie autumn night, yeah, that’s actually just the shots of vodka you’re about to drink. Halloween is right around the corner, we recommend you lift your spirits by trying some of these deliciously spooky Halloween cocktails so you don’t end up in full pennywise makeup sitting on your couch alone and sober.
Now just so you know, we haven’t created these ourselves, but instead, we manage to gather a few from our trusty internet friends.
After a few of these drinks and you’ll be walking around like a zombie in the dead of the night. Let’s get right into it with these spooky Halloween cocktails.
Smokey Jack O’lantern.
1. Jekyll and Gin
This is one of those Halloween cocktails that will have your crazy side coming out. By day you’re just a well-to-do law student; by night, you’ll be climbing the facade of your building complex.
Ingredients
3 oz gin1/2 oz of lemon Juice1 tsp Grenadine1 handful of iceTonic water
Directions
Mix the instructed amounts of gin, lemon juice, and grenadine together in your cocktail shakerPour contents into a large glass full of iceTop off with some tonic waterGarnish with a glow stick (this is optional)
2. Black Magic Margarita
Make sure to bring your cauldron so you make enough of this for everyone. Also, legend says if you throw a picture of your ex in there, and stir vigorously, they’ll get a stye on their eye twice a year for the rest of their life.
Ingredients
2 tbsp Black Sanding Sugar2 cups of Ice4 oz silver tequila2 oz triple sec½ a cup of lime juiceRed, green, and blue food coloringA slice of lime
Directions
Rim two glasses with a lime slice and dip in black sanding sugar to get a sweet rim around your glassDivide the instructed amounts of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice between two glasses and stir to combineAdd food coloring until desired black color is achievedAdd ice and garnish with a slice of lime before serving
3. Bloody Mary Syringes
Some people are scared of needles but I think you’ll really like these shots. See what I did there. This is one of the strangest Halloween cocktails out there.
Ingredients
2 cups of tomato juice8 oz vodka2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce1 tbsp of Horseradish2 tsp Hot sauce (such as tabasco)Juice of ½ of a lemonFreshly ground black pepper
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the tomato juice, vodka, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, hot sauce, lemon juice, and pepper. Whisk to combineFill syringes with mixture and chill syringes. Remember to serve cold.
4. Color Changing Margaritas
Halloween cocktails are all about fun, though your drunk friends might not appreciate this one. They put down their purple drink, and while they’re not paying attention it turns bright pink. They’re gonna be looking for that drink the whole night.
Ingredients
1 Heatproof BowlIce trays2 cups of sliced red (some people call it purple) cabbage4 cups of boiling water8 oz tequila4 oz triple sec3 oz freshly squeezed lime juice1 cup of Lemonade4 lime wedges, for garnish¼ cup of kosher salt or coarse sea salt, for rim
Directions
Place cabbage in a large heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over cabbage, and let sit until water turns deep blue, 5 minutes. Strain out cabbage and let water cool. When water is no longer hot, transfer to ice trays. Freeze until solid, 4 hours.In a medium pitcher or measuring cup, combine instructed amounts of tequila with triple sec, lime juice, and lemonade. Wet rims of glasses with a lime wedge and dip in salt to get salted rim around glasses.Place purple ice cubes in glasses and divide margarita between them. Garnish with a lime wedge and serve.
5. Sweet Poison Cocktail
Don’t worry, you won’t need an antidote for this delicious concoction. This is one of the sweets Halloween cocktails around.
Ingredients
1 oz light rum2 oz Coconut rum 1 oz blue curacao1 handful of icePineapple juicePineapple wedge (for garnish)
Directions
Combine both instructed amounts of rums, and some pineapple juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake for 30 sec Then pour the instructed amount of blue curacao into a cocktail glassFill the rest of the glass with chilled contents inside shaker. You should see the juice sit neatly on top of the blue curacao at the bottom of the glass.Garnish with a pineapple wedge
6. The Zombie Cocktail
Craving for blood, hunger for brains, desire for human flesh. Sounds like a regular Saturday night. This is one of our all-time favorite Halloween cocktails.
Ingredients
1 oz Light rum1 oz Dark rum1 oz apricot liquor2 oz Orange juice1 dash lime bitters1 handful of ice1 oz Bacardi 151 rumorange slice, and cherry, for garnish
Directions
Combine instructed amounts of light rum, dark rum, apricot liquor, orange juice, and bitters into your cocktail shaker. Shake for 30 sec.Pour into a large glass filled with ice. Top with the shot of Bacardi 151, then garnish with the orange slice and cherry.
7. J-E-L-L Glow Shots
This is one of the most fun Halloween cocktails out there. Word of advice, never trust the person tonguing the jello out of the cup with no hands. They’re 100 percent a lizard wearing human clothing.
Ingredients
2 cups of Tonic water, divided2 packages Jell-O (two flavors; we used pineapple and oranges)1 cups Water1 cups Vodka
Directions
Make the first layer: pour one cup tonic water into a pot over high heat. Once it comes to a boil, add the pineapple Jell-o mix. Whisk until the mix has dissolved, then pour in half a cup of water and half a cup vodka. Stir to combine.Pour the Jell-o into shot glasses, filling them about two-thirds of the way up. Place in the refrigerator to chill, 30 to 35 minutes.Make the second layer: as they set, start making the orange Jell-o, following the same process used for the pineapple Jell-O.Top each of the pineapple Jell-o Shot glasses with the orange Jell-o mixture. Return the shots to the fridge to set, 2 to 3 hours. The colors should sit neatly on top of each other.
8. Bloody Mary Margaritas
Go to a mirror, turn off the lights, say bloody mary three times, flip the lights back on, and you’ll have one of these Halloween cocktails in your hand. Enjoy
Ingredients
Chili powder, for rim, 4 lime wedges8 oz Tomato juice4 oz silver tequila2 oz Triple sec¼ tsp of hot sauce, IceThinly sliced jalapeno, for garnish
Directions
Place Chili powder on a shallow dish. Rim each margarita glass with 1 lime wedge, then dip rims in chili powder until you have a completely covered rim on your glasses. Place a lime wedge on the rim of each glass.Combine the instructed amounts of tomato juice, tequila, triple sec, hot sauce, and juice of remaining lime wedges in a cocktail shaker.Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously for 30 sec. Strain using your Hawthorne strainer (or any strainer that gets the job done) into prepared glasses.Garnish with Jalapeno before serving.
9. The Witch’s Heart
If you see a haggard woman dressed in black holding a broomstick in the middle of the night, that’s my grandma, just leave her alone, she’ll go back to bed.
Ingredients
1 jigger (2oz)Apple brandy or Apple vodka chilled,1 tsp grenadineViniq Shimmery Liqueur or Homemade blackberry Shimmery Liqueur (see notes). Chilled or powdered dry ice optional
Directions
Add about ½-tsp of powdered dry ice to the bottom of the glass to create the smoke effect (optional).Place 1 oz apple brandy and 1 oz purple shimmery liqueur in your cocktail shaker.Add 1 ice cube and shake for a 30 seconds to chill the drink. Strain the drink into a martini glass. Top up with more purple shimmery liqueur if necessary.Pour 1 tsp of grenadine syrup, about an inch from the surface of the drink. The grenadine should sink to the bottom, creating a “bleeding” effect.Add about ½ tsp of powdered dry ice on top and serve with a stirrer, so that your guests can stir the “potion” to create that shimmery, smoky effect.
I’m not gonna lie, this is one of the more difficult Halloween cocktails to make. Since we already know you will need some extra guidance for this one, here is a link to the original recipe for the Witches Heart cocktail.
10. Purple People Eater Cocktail
Take a drink every time you mess up saying the name of this cocktail. The more you drink, the more you’ll mess up.
Ingredients
Simple syrup optional-can use water or juice insteadPurple sugar such as sanding sugar (aka sprinkles)1 ½ part vodka1 part blue curacao1 part sweet and sour mix1 part grenadine1 part cranberry juice can also use cran-grape or grape juice
Vodka (any non-flavored type or brand will do), Blue Curacao, A sweet liquor with a blue hue. Flavored from the dried peel of bitter oranges. Cranberry juice-This helps add some fruity flavor to the drink as well as some strong coloring. Sweet and sour mix-a standard in many mixed drinks, this adds some sweetness with a dash of tartness. Grenadine-Another mixed drink favorite, this helps smooth out the flavor while also adding a strong dose of red coloring. Also helps sub some of the tartness of the cranberry juice.
Directions
On a small plate, add purple sugar. Wet the rim of a glass with simple syrup (or cranberry juice) and gently dab the top of the glass in the purple sugar, coating the rim. Set glass aside. Combine vodka, blue curacao, sweet and sour mix, grenadine, and cranberry juice in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake for 30 sec.Fill the sugar-coated glass with ice. Pour purple people eater cocktails mix into glass until full.Serve immediately.
The Purple People Eater Cocktail
Bonus!
11. The Risen from The Grave Cocktail
If you wake up on the ground with soil in your mouth, that’s because you passed on on your neighbors lawn. Blame it on the Halloween cocktails.
Ingredients
3 oz. Absolut vodka2 oz. St. Germain1 handful of ice¼ oz strawberry pureeStrawberry and mint leaf (for garnish)
Directions
combine the vodka and St.Germain in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake for 30 sec.Pour strawberry puree into the bottom of a martini glass. Pour contents from cocktail shaker into glass, but strain with Hawthorne strainer so that ice does not enter glass.Garnish the drink with a strawberry and mint leaf.
Conclusion
Got your red leather jacket on yet? That’s a thriller reference. Don’t know what a thriller is, great, I feel old now.
Hope you liked the look of some of these creepy Halloween cocktails. I’m sure your guests will enjoy them. Look, there’s already a guy dressed like a vampire sleeping in your bathtub, and a girl with her head spinning around throwing up green slime in your parent’s room. Wait, that last one might not be the drinks.
So, are you going to serve up any of these Halloween cocktails? Let us know in the comments below. Click here to check out all of our blog posts. Happy Halloween, yall. And as always, stay safe, stay home, get hammered.
Editor’s note: This article was updated on October 17, 2021, to include additional information regarding Halloween cocktails.
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