Do you hear them? … the Children of the Night? … baying, growling, sniffing at your sealed doors for an invitation. It happens every October as the month pulls itself out of its moldy tomb & thickens with orange & black promise. You carve the pumpkins, prepare the kid’s costumes & view b&w horror movies you haven’t seen in years. We’ve always taken Halloween pretty seriously at Mr. Booze & this year is no exception. Six feet under, you’ll find a list of all our past Halloween themed & appropriate cocktails, with a few fresh ones moldering on top. If you’re planning a party, just having a few friends over for a potluck, or feel like just staying home & hanging out with Abbott & Costello this year, we’re certain you’ll be able to dig something up from this page to make the cool nights leading up to the 31st a little more special. Happy Halloween fellow booze-hounds!
Halloween Sunset
That Martha! She really can do it all & this cocktail I discovered on her site proves she also is a master elbow-tipper as well. A very 70’s style drink, my wife & I tipped a few of these back the other night & were reminded very much of the simple, sweet cocktails of our early 20’s. Halloween can be a frivolous & silly time, so if you feel like cutting straight to the chase & pouring just a simple, boozy, gets-the-job-done kind of drink that you can make quickly, yet is delicious, this Sunset is for you.
Here we go –
– 3 1/2 oz tangerine juice
– 1 1/2 oz white rum
– 3/4 oz grenadine
Combine juice & rum in a hi-ball or double old fashioned glass loaded with ice. Drizzle grenadine over top. Don’t stir.
Maple Bourbon Smash
Suggested by a zombie friend of mine up North, this Fall cocktail is as easy as ghost-busting to pull off. A wonderful pre-CURSE-or to a nice bowl of chili, you can fill a glass pitcher w/ everything x’s 4, but the seltzer & whiskey & make ahead of time.
Here we go –
– 1/2 oz pure maple syrup
– 1/2 oz fresh orange juice
– 1/4 oz fresh lemon juice
– 4 dashes angostura bitters
– 1/2 orange wheel
– 2 oz bourbon
– ice
– 1 1/2 oz chilled seltzer
Muddle the 1st 5 ingredients in chilled pitcher, stir in bourbon, pour into ice-filled double old-fashioned glasses & top w/ seltzer. An autumnal take on an Old Fashioned.
Satan’s Whiskers
Just pouring this damned drink might possibly conjure up a surprise party visitor who may or may not ask for a certain something in exchange for a special favor, so be careful. I found this excellent & extremely serious Halloween drink on a very good cocktail site called Sloshed, which I highly recommend. I wouldn’t suggest this drink as a pour for everyone, this is a sophisticated martini-family cocktail that’s extremely serious in taste, yet still whimsical enough for a dark October night on the front porch with a friend. The smoky, orange back flavor will satisfy tremendously.
Here we go –
– ½ oz gin -
½ oz sweet vermouth
– ½ oz dry vermouth -
½ oz fresh orange juice
– 2 tsp Grand Marnier
– 1 tsp orange bitters
Shake well with ice and strain into an iced cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist
Drunk Pumpkin Punch
I made one of these once and a boozy Halloween party and it was the hit of the evening. I highly recommend that you set it up outdoors if using a real pumpkin. They look beautiful and work well as a bowl but … pumpkins leak; I found that one out the hard way the next a.m.. Mopping up a floor covered with sticky Halloween punch while suffering a hangover is not the way to kick off November.
Here we go –
Half Gallon Apple Cider
Close to a fifth of dark or gold Rum
3 regular or one large bottle(s) of Ginger Beer
One med-sized, hollowed out, pumpkin
Close to party time, fill your hollowed out pumpkin or pumpkin punch bowl with the cider, rum and ginger beer, stir and add a frozen block of ice to keep things cold. Have your guests ladle the punch into punch cups.
Hot Spiced Cider
If you’re fortunate enough to have a chilly week around Halloween, mix up a batch of Hot Spiced Cider. In the evenings before Halloween, I’ll pull out an old television set, hook up my DVD player and gather neighbors for Monster Movies out in the car (bar) port. Sure it gets cool, but that’s fall. This drink will set things right.
Here we go –
2 quarts apple cider
4 cloves
3 cinnamon sticks
5 shots Applejack or Apple Brandy
Heat cider with cloves and cinnamon, add booze and stir. Pat the rims of mugs in brown sugar and serve the cider in them.
Witches Brew
One of the few “modern cocktails” I’m including, this is a tasty, fun drink to enjoy while celebrating Halloween. This recipe comes from the Red Brick Tavern in Lafayette, Ohio where the ghost of a scorned young woman is said to roam the bar.
Here we go –
2 oz of mixed Cranberry and Pineapple juices
2 oz 7-Up soda
1 ½ oz Malibu, coconut Rum
Mix the 7-up and juices in a double old-fashioned glass with ice. Pour the rum down the inside of the glass right before serving.
Dracula’ Cocktail
Borrowed from The Playboy Bar Guide, this name-appropriate cocktail can be batched for home entertaining ahead of time. Just pour the amount needed in a small shaker with ice for each individual drink. Dracula will pour red so you get your “pop” as you pass one to your guest. Work on your Bela Lugosi accent ahead of time. You’ll need it as you host.
Here we go –
2 oz white rum
½ tsp grenadine (yes…you can use Roses)
1 oz lemon juice
4 oz cranberry cocktail
couple dashes Angostura bitters
Shake well w/ ice, pour into a tall rocks glass. Add more ice if necessary.
Night Shade
For a “friendly” cocktail which can be enjoyed by most boys & ghouls over the age of 21, this odd little Halloween addition is actually quite complex and runs deep enough to also satisfy the more serious drinker at your Monster Mash. The juice and fruit provide the cut for the casual, yet the chartreuse & whiskey pack the punch. Serve it in those plastic, spooky Halloween martini cups you find at the party store. This is a great cocktail!
Here we go –
1 ½ oz bourbon
½ oz sweet vermouth
½ – 1 oz orange juice
½ tsp yellow chartreuse
Shake ingredients w/ ice in a shaker till cold. Strain up into a cocktail glass & garnish with a slice of lemon and orange.
Black Devil Cocktail
For the dads out there brave enough to sport horns, a red trident and a tail, here’s the perfect martini-type cocktail to go along with your El Diablo outfit. I like a nice white rum, and I love black olives, so this one is a nice change of pace, on occasion, from my beloved martini. I use the Appleton White Rum in this drink and, served iced-cold, you can’t go wrong. The name screams Halloween to me but…you can actually whip one of these up anytime.
Here we go –
2 oz white rum (Appleton is the one)
½ oz dry vermouth
Mix as you would your favorite martini, serve up in a clear cocktail glass and garnish with 2-3 black olives.
Blue Devil Cocktail
One of those gasp-inducing drinks that is horrifically perfect for a Halloween party or simple gathering, the Blue Devil should go swell with most adult costumes. Think of it as a boozy accent piece to your sexy nun outfit or your zombie mask, that happens to taste great and will leave you even more likely to be less inhibited before the night is done with you. The kind of drink that will have you waking up on November 1st asking, through your sandpapered mouth, “Did I really do that last night?” Bartender’s warning: please be careful with the Blue Devil. Just ‘cause it’s Halloween, try not to blame The Devil for your outlandish deeds after the fact.
Here we go –
1 ½ oz gin
½ oz blue curacao
1 oz lemon juice
Shake with ice and serve chilled and up in a cocktail glass. Garnish with a floating lemon or orange slice.
Acapulco Zombie
I guess there would be zombies in Acapulco in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Zombie cliff-divers and zombies selling piñatas & paper flowers would be roaming and diving all over the destination spot. For me, the Zombie is a natural for a Halloween cocktail. This one’s a heck of a lot easier to build than the traditional Zombie I’ve highlighted in previous Halloween and tiki posts. Yet another easy & spooky drink to batch ahead of time, this cocktail would work wonderfully for a party or any creature-feature get together.
Here we go –
1 ½ oz tequila
1 ½ oz vodka
1 ½ oz dark rum
2 oz orange juice
2 oz grapefruit juice
1 tsp grenadine
dash or two of white crème de menthe
Shake all ingredients except crème de menthe in a shaker till cold. Pour into a hi-ball glass over ice & top with a couple dashes of the crème de menthe. Stir softly and garnish with a maraschino cherry.
Screaming Banana Banshee
Sure, we’ve all known one, a few of us unfortunate enough to have married one…but isn’t it fun to learn that you can actually drink a screaming banshee, too? This is a perfect drink to enjoy at home, by yourself, or with your partner while carving pumpkins (be careful w/ knives & booze…maybe just watch), or hosting a small party. The cream/banana component makes them a bit thick and sweet so I’d only plan on enjoying one or two, tops. Don’t plan an evening around this drink, but if you’re mixing it up with a few Halloween drink choices, this should go into the rotation.
Here we go –
½ oz banana liqueur
½ oz vodka
½ oz crème de cacao (either light or dark, doesn’t matter)
1 ½ oz light cream
Shake in shaker along with cracked ice till freezing & frothy; strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with cherry.
Candy Corn Martini
A little sweet for my taste, I’ll open the lid on this cocktail just one night a year. Candy corn is the spirit of Halloween wrapped up in a bite-sized nugget of deliciousness, so I get why this drink is so gobbled down by sugar-buzzed kiddies over the age of 21. Positively gorgeous on a silver tray bathed in candlelight, a presentation of these on the home bar would last about half a minute.
Here we go –
3/4 oz vanilla vodka
1/2 oz white Creme de Cacao
1/2 oz butterscotch schnapps
2 oz orange juice
cocoa powder for rim
Ring your martini glasses w/ orange juice then pat into cocoa powder till rimmed. In a shaker filled w/ ice, pour liquid ingredients. Shake then pour up into martini glasses. Garnish w/ orange peel twist and skewered candy corn.
Ghost
I found this on the Drink Nation site and had to try it. This is a very good hi-ball cocktail yet one you should be careful with. You will be seeing ghosts if you have more than three…ghosts riding pink elephants. It has a chugability that can get you in trouble.
Here we go –
1 oz bourbon
2 oz vanilla flavored rum
cream soda
Fill a tall glass w/ rocks then pour in bourbon & rum. Top w/ cream soda. “Boo!”
Dracula’s Kiss
You gotta buy one of those goofy flavored vodkas for this one, but what the hell, you’ll have it for something else that calls for it down the line. This is the Halloween drink that your guests have to try when they see it. It looks great on a spooky decorated bar or on a coffee table ‘long side a carved pumpkin. Like “The Ghost”, this cocktail has a drinkability about it that could be dangerous. I mixed up a couple the other night during a DVD showing of The Fearless Vampire Killers, and everyone loved it, so you might consider this one for an October scary movie night.
Here we go –
2 oz black cherry vodka
1/2 oz grenadine
coca-cola
Swirl the grenadine around the bottom half of a clear high-ball glass till the glass is coated. Add ice then the vodka. Fill with cola and garnish with 2 plump cherries. Black straw if you can find them.
Dark & Stormy
Going with this one for Halloween on a name base, primarily. Surprisingly enough, I’ve never mentioned this boozy staple on Mr. Booze. Shame on me. This is the quick one for Halloween night. Maybe you have door duty, maybe you just want to watch a werewolf movie, maybe you don’t want to work too hard. The name is appropriate as is the ginger-spiciness of the mix so I went with it. Do not use ginger-ale w/ this one. Buy a couple bottles of ginger beer and tuck them away. My favorite is the Goya, it’s very spicy.
Here we go –
2 to 3 oz dark rum
ginger beer
1/2 oz lime juice
Fill a tall glass with ice, add lime juice then rum. Lightly stir then pour ginger beer to fill
Well, there you have it. Have fun this Halloween season. You’ve earned it. Watch an old spooky movie, throw a bash & batch a couple of these drinks, have a few friends over while the kids trick ‘r treat, just enjoy yourselves.
If you’d like some tips on great Halloween appetizers check out this Mr. Booze’ piece.
To set the spooky tone with music & sounds, go here
Besides the undead, Mr. Booze should have you all covered.