It’s that time of year when the nights are drawing in and the temperature has dropped, and our thoughts turn to all things otherworldly and supernatural. Whether you are a student of mixology or just looking for some frightfully good fun, here are some daringly delicious Halloween party drinks to get you in the spirit…
Black magic martini
There are two common versions of this popular Halloween party drink. For a deliciously dark twist on a classic martini, add some blackberry liqueur to the other ingredients of vodka, vermouth, simple syrup, and lemon juice, and garnish with a few whole blackberries.
Alternatively, make a potent witches’ brew with three shots of espresso, dark spiced rum, dry vermouth, a lime wedge, caster sugar, granulated sugar, and some orange food colour gel. To make this spooktacular drink, first mix some coloured sugar to put on the glass rims, by distributing the food colouring in a bowl of sugar.
Take care not to use too much and make the sugar sticky. Rub the lime wedge around the rim of a martini glass and press it into the sugar to coat it. Next, dissolve six tablespoons of sugar in hot espresso and leave to cool.
Put the ice cubes in a cocktail shaker with the rum, vermouth, and espresso and shake well. Serve with lychee on a cocktail stick for that charmingly realistic eyeball garnish.
Witch’s brew sangria
Put a fun Halloween twist on this favourite party punch with red wine, brandy, smashed blackberries, black grapes, dark plums, orange slices and club soda or ginger beer. Flavour with a sprinkling of cinnamon and serve in a hollowed out pumpkin or a cast iron cauldron and garnish with some gummy worms for the perfect potion of peril.
Graveyard Mule
This is a spooky twist on the classic Moscow Mule. It involves mixing fresh lime juice with ginger beer and black vodka for a vampire’s kiss of death.
Halloween Margarita
The Halloween margarita is a delicious and colourful beverage that will brighten up the room, and it is super easy to mix up a pitcher for your party. It’s made with spiced apple cider syrup, fresh lime and tequila. Rim the glasses with some coloured sugar and add some blood oranges and a handful of fake spiders to add a chilling seasonal frisson.
Skeleton key cocktail
Set spines shivering with this fun bubbly highball drink. It’s made with a combination of bourbon, elderflower, and ginger beer, and Angostura bitters for a seriously flavourful punch.
The amber tones evoke the colour of a rusting skeleton key, letting the imagination loose with images of haunted Gothic castles full of spiral stone staircases and mysterious locked doors. Serve in a collins glass and sip through a straw to get the full intensity of the flavours.
