Who doesn’t love Halloween? The fun Halloween costumes, the chilly weather, the beautiful leaves changing color, and of course, the Halloween parties will likely be the highlight of your fall festivities.
It takes a lot to have a genuinely fantastic Halloween party — more than just some apple cider and basic mocktails.
The theme is everything, and you want every piece of your spooky season get-together to exude the eeriness that makes Halloween one of your favorite holidays. And one of the things that ties the whole party together areis delicious cocktails that are on point with the Halloween spirit more-so than a traditional margarita or old-fashioned.
So we’ve come up with a list of some amazing, delicious, and fun Halloween cocktail recipes that will help get your guests loose, get the conversation flowing, and help everybody have a fantastically creepy night. Let’s get started!
Witch’s Brew
We all know some version of a story where a spooky witch gives an unsuspecting visitor a poisonous potion with some wild effects. It bubbles with an eerie white mist and has an almost neon green color. Well, this drink won’t poison your guests, but it does certainly fit the look we’re going for.
How To Make It
The star of this beautiful boozy potion is Midori, a bright green honeydew melon liqueur from Japan. Pour one and a half ounces of Midori into the cocktail shaker, along with one and a half ounces of your favorite blood orange liqueur or raspberry liqueur, an ounce of lemon juice, and some ice.
Shake well, and then pour into a lowball glass. If you want a garnish, add a cocktail cherry. The bright red contrasts with the bright green drink beautifully.
Dry Ice
What makes this cocktail extra spooky is dry ice. Yes, you read that right! After you’ve poured your cocktail, use some tongs to add a small piece of dry ice to the cocktail. The dry ice will bubble and produce a fantastic mist that will slowly pour out of the glass.
Just make sure to be extra careful with dry ice. Don’t touch it with your bare skin; drop it into the drink with tongs or gloves. It is perfectly safe to drink a cocktail with dry ice in it, but make sure you warn your guests to not put the dry ice in their mouths.
While the ice is in the cocktail, it will sink to the bottom, so it should be easy to avoid, and it should safely disappear in about five minutes. It might seem like a bit of extra work, but it really brings the whole drink together!
Dark and Stormy
While the Dark and Stormy isn’t an explicitly Halloween-y drink, it certainly does fit the vibe as it is. And how many scary stories have you heard that begin with the iconic phrase, “It was a dark and stormy night…”?
Not only is this cocktail super easy to make, but it is also incredibly delicious. The rich dark rum, the spiced flavor of the ginger beer or ginger ale, and the citrus of lime just pair together so beautifully.
How To Make It
To make this classic drink, you don’t even need a shaker because you can mix it right in the glass. Simply add about five ounces of ginger beer along with half an ounce of lime juice into a glass. Give it a quick stir to combine, and then add ice.
Now slowly and carefully pour two ounces of dark rum or spiced rum on top of the ice. You want the dark rum to float on top to give a beautiful dark and light-layered effect. Now simply garnish with a lime, and you’re ready to serve. Super easy, super fun, and super delicious!
Undead Ginger Yuzu
Part of making a great Halloween cocktail is having those fantastic autumn flavors that complement the change of the seasons and the cold weather, and this cocktail has that in droves!
The apéritif that takes center stage for this cocktail combines some beautifully rich, autumnal flavors that fit the Halloween mood. It pairs the warm spiciness of ginger with the sweet nuttiness of rooibos tea and the bright citrusy flavors of yuzu.
How To Make It
To bring this cocktail together, all you need is a few simple ingredients. Pour four ounces of Haus Ginger Yuzu into a glass. To add to the spookiness of the drink, add some food coloring to it. We prefer a deep purple for the dark and creepy vibes.
Add ice to the drink and slowly pour in some tonic water on top of the ice cubes to layer the drink nicely. Garnish with a slice of lemon. And if you’re really feeling like upping the scale on the eerie energy, drop a few drops of red food coloring on the side of the glass to look like blood. This simple concoction is both delicious and fun!
Bloody Mary
Not only is the Bloody Mary one of the most classic cocktails out there, but it’s also one of the easiest drinks to turn into one of the festive Halloween drinks we’re after. Even the name is already on theme for the night!
This drink shines because of its customizability and its savoriness. For this, especially if you love Bloody Marys, we recommend you do a build-your-own Bloody Mary bar stocked with a bunch of different toppings and ingredients that fit the Halloween spirit.
How To Make It
The origins of the Bloody Mary aren’t exactly clear but the original brunch cocktail likely consisted of seven ingredients: vodka, tomato juice, black pepper, celery salt, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco hot sauce, and lemon juice. But again, this drink shines because of its customizability and the hundreds of variations you can put on it.
For your topping bar, make some ingredients that just scream Halloween. Carve up some green olives to make them resemble eyeballs. Shape some celery sticks to resemble fingers and cover them with a bloody-looking hot sauce. Get a small melon ball scooper and scoop some onions to make ghostly orbs with toothpicks running through.
Get creative! This drink will not only get your guests feeling loose, but it will be a great conversation starter and a great activity for them to do.
You can even offer tequila, gin, or other liquors if your guests prefer them. It’s even good to add some citrusy apéritifs to the mix like Grapefruit Jalepeño Haus.
Bloody Sangria
There’s nothing quite like a lovely sangria. It’s delicious, fruity, and sweet, and that deep red color makes it perfect for a Halloween punch recipe.
There are a bunch of sangria recipes out there, but the main ingredients are red wine, chopped fruits, herbs, and spices. Many people also love to add simple syrup, an apéritif or liqueur, soda, or orange juice.
How To Make It
Sangria does take a little bit of prep work. Ideally, you would make it the morning before your party and let the flavors mingle for a while before serving. For this recipe, you’ll need:
- 1 full bottle of red wine
- 1/2 cup of simple syrup (or to your preference)
- 1/4 cup of orange juice or orange puree
- 1/4 cup of cranberry juice or pomegranate juice
- 3/4 cup of Spiced Cherry Haus
- 1 chopped orange
- 1 chopped lemon
- Orange bitters (optional)
- 1 chopped apple
- ½ cup of cherries
- 3 cinnamon sticks
Let these sit for up to eight hours and then serve it in a bowl or pitcher. If you’re feeling extra creative, chop up your fruits into fun Halloween-y shapes like eyeballs, bats, skulls, jack-o’-lanterns, or whatever your heart desires.
SpookyJello Shots
Who doesn’t love a good jello shot? They’re simple and fun, and they’re easy to theme to your party. For your Halloween party, it’s best to go with dark-colored jello and orange jello to make some great colors. This is one of the easiest Halloween drink recipes out there, so here’s how you make it.
How To Make It
Follow the jello mix instruction and simply substitute some of the water with a liquor of your choice. Pour the mix into some festive molds (skulls, pumpkins, or bats), and let them sit in the fridge for a few hours. Now, you’ve got easy, tasty treats that will delight your party guests!
If you’re feeling really fun and creative, station a few tables with trays of these bad boys around the house along with some Halloween candy and you’ll have some grown-uptrick-or-treating with jello shots!
Halloween Cocktails for a Great Night
Now you’re ready to go for your amazing Halloween party. Try out these fun recipes and enjoy a fantastic night of conversation, costumes, and connection! These drinks will help you and your friends to have a spooky season gathering that you won’t soon forget.
Sources:
Q & A: Melting Dry Ice | Department of Physics | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
