Vampire's Kiss cocktail by Kilkea Castle
It’s spooky season once again, and that means it’s time to get dressed up as your favorite character and hit the party scene swinging.
Whether you’re looking to host friends and family for a fall soiree, or just need to spice up your trick-or-treating duties, these creepy cocktails are sure to bring a devilish smile to your face.
See also: This Pumpkin Spice Candle, Cocktail Pairing From Half Baked Harvest & Snif Will Make Your Season
No matter whether you prefer rum or bourbon, tequila or absinthe, we’ve got a merrily morbid recipe to suit your soul.
This recipe from Ron Zacapa rum will bring a chill and a thrill to your party guests. It does require you to purchase a cocktail-smoking gun from Flavour Blaster, specifically the mixed berry flavor, but once you’ve got that, you can make any drink a delightfully smoky one.
Ingredients:
Directions: Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker, and double strain over ice in a chilled highball or pilsner glass. Smoke with mixed berry smoke and mini cocktail cloche.
Another frightfully good sip, this recipe comes from Ketel One vodka and features a house-made blood orange reduction simple syrup.
Ingredients:
Directions: To make the simple syrup, zest and juice four blood oranges, then combine the results and bring to a low boil on the stove. Reduce heat and add 1 cup of water and 1 cup of white sugar. Stir and remove from heat. Cool and double strain through a fine mesh. To make the cocktail, combine all ingredients in a mixing glass. Dry shake for 10 seconds. Add ice and shake well again. Double fine strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a fresh thyme sprig.
Created by Brooklyn-based mixologist Jes Gutierrez-Switaj, this spicy little number features El Bandido Yankee Blanco tequila and muddled blackberries.
Ingredients:
Directions: Muddle blackberries, rum and orgeat. Fine strain and set aside. Pour sour cherry liqueur and allspice dram into the bottom of a glass. Fill the glass halfway with crushed or nugget ice. Pour in blackberry mixture. Fill the glass the rest of the way with ice. Top off with El Bandido Yankee blanco tequila and lime juice. Garnish with carbonized star fruit slice, or something equally spooky!
Ben Rojo cooked up this dark and citrus-y drink for Don Papa Rum, and now you can enjoy it with your closest ghoul friends.
Ingredients:
New York City’s Deena Sayers puts a fun spin on a classic, adding chai tea and cardamom to this autumnal classic, courtesy of Chambord.
Ingredients:
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a pot and whisk well. Heat it on a very low setting. Once you start to smell the aromatics, give the mixture a stir and serve! Garnish with a lemon wheel.
What’s Halloween without a little visit from the green fairy? This creepy cocktail was created by Laura Pica, aka the @boozy_bartender, especially for you and Absente Absinthe.
Ingredients:
Directions: To make the rosemary-infused vodka, add a few Rosemary sprigs and a vanilla bean (if on hand) to a mason jar with 1 cup vodka and let sit overnight. Shake and try it daily to reach the level of rosemary you’d like imparted. To make the cocktail, add all ingredients to a shaking tin with ice and shake vigorously until well chilled. Strain into a martini glass or coupe and garnish with 2 pitted lychees to look like “eyes.”
This cocktail comes courtesy of the Riedel company, designed specifically for its sophisticated double rocks glass.
Ingredients:
Directions: Dry shake, and pour into a chilled Riedel Double Rocks Glass—new to the market this year—over crushed ice. Garnish with dried orange wheel and grated nutmeg.
This sweet sip of seduction comes from Kilkea Castle in Ireland, where they know a thing or two about spooky hallways and historical haunts.
Ingredients:
Directions: Chill a martini or cocktail glass. Pour the raspberry liqueur and Dingle Vodka into a Boston shaker and add a handful of Ice and the raspberries. Shake until the outside of the shaker feels very cold. If using the coloured sugar, dip the rim of your chilled glass into cold water, then into the sugar. Fine strain the cocktail into your prepared glass, top with the Prosecco. Enjoy!
More a fan of the Dias de los Muertos? Volcán Tequila honors the traditional Mexican holiday with a spicy sip that is so good, it’s evil.
Ingredients:
Directions: Pour tequila, lime juice, and simple syrup into a shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a glass and slowly pour the red wine into the drink using a barspoon.
One more shocking sip to round out our list, this one from the fine folks at Martini & Rossi.
Ingredients:
Directions: Stir ingredients together in a shaker, then pour into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange slice.
Now that you’re ready to host the most haunted Halloween drinking party of the season, why not plan a spooky getaway to one of these seriously haunted yet luxurious hotels?
Photography by: Courtesy of Kilkea Castle; Courtesy of Ron Zacapa; Courtesy of Ketel One; Courtesy of El Bandido Yankee; Courtesy of Don Papa Rum; Courtesy of Chambord; Courtesy of Absente Absinthe; Courtesy of Riedel; Courtesy of Kilkea Castle; Courtesy of Volcán Tequila; Grace Sager
