Spooky and Upscale Cocktails for Halloween

It’s October, which means Halloween decorations, movies, and parties abound—a.k.a Spooky Season. Halloween provides an excellent opportunity to not only entertain, but to get fun and creative in a way that can only happen once a year.

It’s easy to lean towards the same Halloween trends: smoke, spider webs, and skeletons. But lean too far into those trends and your grown-up gathering may end up reminiscent of your elementary school Halloween parties.

For the drinks component of your party, keep things both spooky and upscale by using some of the following tips:

Go ahead and use your favorite Halloween punch recipe, but instead of the same old punch bowl, make them into individual cocktails instead, finishing each with a creative garnish.

Dry ice is fun and smoky, but predictable. For that same creepy effect, use ingredients like activated charcoal, which will give your cocktails a deep black hue (without staining lips and teeth!), or fresh pomegranate juice for a creepy blood-red tint.

Ice cubes! Freeze scary decorations or garnishes in your cubes at home, to give your elegant Old Fashioneds or simple Gin and Tonics a terrifying twist.

Have an upcoming party? Try this dark recipe below!

Ghost Town

1.25 oz vodka

0.5 oz activated charcoal syrup

0.5 oz pumpkin spice tea blend

0.5 oz lemon juice

Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with citrus for color contrast, or any other Halloween decoration you’d like!