Some love Halloween because of all the free candy. Others love the excuse to dress up like their favorite cartoon, super hero, or "sexy" ____ [insert random fictional character here]. And still more just look at this holiday as another excuse to go out, party, and get crazy drunk.
No matter what category you fall under, we've compiled some of the best Halloween-themed drinks out there so you can get your sweet treat in liquid form.
From a Jack O' Lantern garnish made from orange peel, to a blood-rimmed martini glass in honor of Dracula, and a witches' eye floater that uses frozen grapes, here are five cocktail recipes that are sure to make any Halloween party ghoulishly great:
The Jack O' Lantern(pictured above from the Empire Hotel in New York City)
The Empire Hotel's Lobby Bar serves this holiday seasonal concoction, dubbed the Jack O' Lantern, every year around this time. A potent mix, it's a drink that will really make you "light up" with excitement.
Ingredients:
1 ounce Lucid absinthe
1/2 ounce Jack Daniels
A few dashes of orange bitters
Directions: Combine Lucid, Jack Daniels and three dashes of orange bitters in a rocks glass, add ice, and serve with an orange wedge (carved eyes will make it even more festive).
The Day of the Dead Margarita
Raise a glass to the dead with the margarita del diablo, the perfect cocktail to serve on the Day of the Dead. With a spicy-sweet mole rim, it's an authentic Mexican-style drink to celebrate the holiday.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 ounces Cabo Reposado tequila
1 ounce agave nectar
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce blood orange puree
Directions: Mix tequila, agave nectar, lime juice and orange puree in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain over a margarita glass with ice (or "up" with no ice cocktail-style), and rim with mole spice.
Witches' Eye Brew
Throwing a Halloween party this year? Dim the lights, turn down the volume on that Halloween themed music CD you have blaring in the background, and prepare your guests with a toast to the evening followed by a chug of a glass of witches' eye brew. A quick incantation and some ceremonial candle lighting, and you'll have them thinking the bobbing frozen grape garnish may just be the real thing.
Ingredients:
2 ounces grape flavored vodka
4-5 muddled grapes
1 ounce white grape juice
A few drops of red food dye
Directions: In a shaker combine ice, vodka, muddled grapes and grape juice. Pour in a chilled martini glass. Garnish with pre-frozen grapes (use an ice cube tray to freeze three grapes together into a "cube"). Finish with a few drops of red food dye right before serving to look like drops of blood from a freshly-severed eye ball.
Brain Hemorrhage
Finally, the perfect shot for Halloween. Sure, it looks creepy, but it doesn't taste too bad -- just like peaches and cream. Best part: it doesn't have to be made at home. If you're out, share this one with the bartender, as any well-stocked bar will have a bottle of Baileys and peach schnapps hanging around.
Ingredients:
1/2 - 3/4 ounce Peach Schnapps
2 Tablespoon floater of Baileys
1 Teaspoon Grenadine through the Baileys.
Directions: Pour peach schnapps in large shot glass. Pour in Baileys floater. Add grenadine on top of the Baileys, and watch the magic happen.
The Vampire's Kiss
This "blood rimmed" martini glass is the perfect holiday cocktail party primer. Calling all vampires: a bloody kiss of death with a delicious garnish made from the same mixture you'd use to make hard candy.
Garnish Ingredients:
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of Karo syrup
1/2 cup of water
1 bottle of red food dye
Garnish Directions: Combine sugar, syrup and water in a pan and heat on the stove over medium heat. Cook without stirring until you see hard cracked edges (or up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit). Add food coloring -- don't be timid, less will make it look pink instead of red. Turn off heat, and while the mixture is still hot, dunk the top of the cocktail glass into the mixture to create the red rim. If you need to do several glasses, keep the mixture warm. Because of the thick consistency, when you turn the glass right-side-up, the mixture "drips" as it hardens to the glass. (Soak the glass in warm water to remove).
Drink Ingredients:
2 ounces cranberry flavored vodka
1 ounce cranberry juice
1 bottle Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider
1/2 ounce of cranberry schnapps
Drink Directions: Add ingredients together and shake with ice. Pour into blood-rimmed martini glass.
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