Ghoulish garnish: 5 Halloween cocktail recipes for spirited adults

 

 

Will it be a dark and stormy night? Maybe you’ve got a date with Bloody Mary? It may be Halloween, but we don’t have to let the kids have all the fun. Here are few cocktails, some with a creepy garnishes, that allow adults to get into the spirit(s).

Here we go…

This cocktail, from Tullamore DEW, is inspired by the 1897 horror novel, “Dracula,” written by Irish author Bram Stoker.

Suggested garnish — A bloody eyeball: Peel a lychee, place a blueberry in natural hole. Drizzle with fruit preserves to create veins, if desired.

Vampire’s Weakness (a Boulevardier)
Makes 1 cocktail

1 ounce Campari

1 ounce sweet vermouth

1-1/4 ounce Irish whisky

Place ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into stemmed coupe.

Here’s a classic cocktail from Tullamore DEW, with an orange twist for Halloween.

Suggested garnishes — Citrus jack ‘o’ lantern: Turn a kumquat or small orange into a jack’o’lantern by using a paring knife to cut tiny eyes, nose and mouth into the flesh of the fruit.

or

Floating pumpkins: Slice an orange. Stick a strip of lime peel or green candy for a stem and float it in punch bowls or atop cocktails.

Pumpkin Fright (Irish Old Fashioned)
Makes 1 cocktail

2 ounces Irish whisky

3/4 ounce Bénédictine

2 dashes Angostura bitters

2 dashes orange bitters

Place scant teaspoon simple syrup or water in old fashioned glass. Add bitters and Bénédictine. Add whiskey and ice.

Freixenet’s Sweet Cuvée Cava suggests serving this cocktail with a cinnamon stick.

Suggested garnish — Smoldering witches broom: Using caution, light the end of a cinnamon stick, blow it out, and carefully set it into the glass while still smoking. Serve immediately.

Witches’ Brew
Makes 1 cocktail

2 ounces dark rum

1 ounce fresh lime juice

3/4 ounce ginger liqueur

A splash of sweet cava

Cinnamon stick

In a cocktail shaker, combine ice with all ingredients except cava. Shake and pour in glass. Top with a floater of cava. Add smoldering cinnamon stick.

This cocktail from Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur doesn’t need a scary garnish because it, looks like, well a bloody good drink.

Bloodline
Makes 1 cocktail

1 ounce blood orange liqueur

1 ounce fresh beet juice

1 ounce fresh carrot juice

1 ounce fresh orange juice

1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice

1/2 ounce fresh ginger juice

Slice of fresh ginger

Place all ingredients with ice in a shaker. Shake and strain over ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a slice of fresh ginger.

This cocktail requires a specific brand of liqueur, a Viniq Glow, a peach liqueur that “shimmers” when swirled into cocktails. Sure, it’s a novelty, but this one is from Natalie Migliarini of Beautiful Booze blog, looks like fun. Migiarini has more Halloween drink ideas on her site.

Shimmery Magical Punch
Makes 1 cocktail

2 ounces Viniq Glow

1 ounce lemon juice

1 ounce triple sec

Rim glass with black or white sugar sprinkles. Add chilled Viniq Glow, juice, triple sec and ice to a cocktail shaker, shake mixture, then pour into glass.

•••

Here are a few other super easy garnish ideas:
• Floating eyeballs — Press a clove into a cocktail onion to make floating eyes in your martinis.

• Ghosts — Whip cream until stiff, then liberally mound on top of a coffee drink. Add a couple of tiny Red Hot candy eyes.

• Blood – Pool Grenadine on a plate. Dip the rim of a glass in liquid, shake a bit and then allow Grenadine to drip down the sides, just a bit.

 

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