With Halloween nearly here and your kids’ costumes finally picked out, it’s time to relax and enjoy the holiday with a spook-tacularly festive cocktail! What better way to celebrate than with a Cointreau Autumn Shandy or a Vampire Blood Cocktail? Scroll through this list of boo-tiful Halloween-inspired cocktails and test one or two out!
Kate Hudson’s Bloody White Cosmo
Ingredients
1 1/2 oz Absolut Elyx vodka
1 oz white cranberry juice
3/4 oz blood orange liqueur
1/2 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Shake hard until outside of shaker is frosty and cold. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with 3 red cranberries on a spooky pic.
EFFEN® Blood Orange Connection
Ingredients
1 1/4 oz EFFEN® Blood Orange vodka
3/4 oz Courvoisier® VS cognac
1/2 oz simple syrup
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
Orange twist, for garnish
Directions
Combine ingredients in a Boston shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled martini cocktail glass with sugared rim. Garnish with orange twist.
Jack Candy Fashioned
Ingredients
2 oz Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel
½ oz candy corn syrup*
2 small dashes of angostura bitters
1 dash of Regan’s orange bitters
Orange peel, for garnish
Candy corn, for garnish
Directions
Add all to a double old-fashioned glass. Add a large ice cube. Stir. Mist an orange peel and garnish. Add candy corn garnish.
*Candy corn syrup: Cut candy corn and measure in a mixing glass. Add to a small saucepan. Add equal parts water. Heat and stir until candy is dissolved in water. Let cool and store in a glass bottle.
Cointreau Autumn Shandy
Ingredients
1 1/2 oz Cointreau
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
4 oz pumpkin ale
Grated nutmeg, for garnish
Directions
Build all ingredients over ice in a cocktail glass. Stir briefly. Garnish with grated nutmeg.
Vampire Blood Cocktail by FreshPreserving.com
Ingredients
2 oz pomegranate-infused tequila*
1 oz grenadine syrup
1/4 oz triple sec
1/2 oz agave syrup
1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
Lime wheel, for garnish
Directions
Pour ingredients into a shaker and fill with ice. Shake well and strain into a salt-rimmed old-fashioned glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.
*For the pomegranate-infused tequila:
Ingredients
1 cup pomegranate seeds
1 1/2 to 2 cups El Jimador® Silver Tequila
1 Ball® pint (16 oz.) jar with lid and band
Directions
Combine pomegranate seeds and tequila in Ball® jar and close tightly. Store in a cool dark place for a few days to a few weeks, tasting the tequila after a few days to test the flavor. The longer it is allowed to infuse, the deeper and mellower the flavor will become. When ready to use, strain and store in a tightly sealed Ball® jar.
Casa Crazy Eye
Ingredients
1 1/2 oz Casamigos Blanco
2 oz lychee liqueur
1/4 oz fresh lemon juice
4 basil leaves
Salt
Sugar
Oreo cookie crumbs
Luxardo cherry, for garnish
Lychee ball, for garnish
Directions
Coat rim of glass with salt, sugar and Oreo cookie crumbs* (equal parts). Combine all ingredients into a tin shaker. Muddle herbs. Add ice. Shake vigorously for 12 to 15 seconds. Fine-strain into a small martini glass. Garnish with the Luxardo cherry inside the lychee ball (as eyeball) through a skewer.
* To add sugar, salt, Oreo rim: Wet rim of glass with lime wedge and agave nectar and roll rim through mixture.
The Naughty St. Clements
Ingredients
1 1/2 oz Solerno
1/2 oz orange juice
1 1/2 oz bitter lemon
Blood orange slice, for garnish
Lemon slice, for garnish
Directions
Build in a stemmed wineglass. Garnish with blood orange and lemon slice.
Cruzan® Dark as Night
Ingredients
1 oz Cruzan® Black Strap rum
1/4 oz Falernum syrup
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
6 oz cider
Nutmeg, for garnish
Lime or orange peel, for garnish
Directions
Combine Black Strap rum, Falernum syrup and fresh lime juice in a mixing glass. Pour cider into a rocks glass and slowly float mixture over top of the cider. Finish with fresh grated nutmeg and a lime or orange peel.