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It’s just not Halloween without spirits! Here are 13 essential cocktails for your spirited All Hallows Eve gathering:
Corpse Reviver:
This classic cocktail is sure to get even the most reluctant guests dancing to the Monster Mash!
1 oz. gin
1 oz. Cointreau (or Triple Sec)
1 oz. Lillet or Cocchi
1 oz. lemon juice
1 dash Absinthe or Herbsaint
Shake vigorously with ice, then strain into a cocktail glass or coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.
Satan’s Whiskers:
Sweet as temptation, bitter as the realization that you’ve sold your soul.
1/2 oz gin
1/2 oz Dry Curacao*
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1/2 oz dry vermouth
1/2 oz orange juice
Shake vigorously with ice, then strain into a cocktail glass or coupe. Garnish with an orange twist.
*For a sweeter version, Triple Sec may be substituted for Dry Curacao.
Black Widow:
This intoxicating brew is deadly delicious.
2 oz. Irish whiskey
1 oz. Chambord
12 oz. Guinness
Combine whiskey and Kahlua in a chilled pint glass, then add Guinness.
Heart of Darkness:
This potent blend will make your heart feel like it’s about to jump out of your chest!
2 oz. Fernet Branca
8 oz. hot coffee
Pour Fernet into coffee, enjoy while hot.
Persephone’s Kiss:
A single sip of this will bind you to the underworld forever; I promise you won’t mind.
2 oz. rum
2 oz. pomegranate liqueur*
1 oz. lime
2 dashes orange bitters
Shake with ice, serve on the rocks. Garnish with 6 pomegranate seeds.
*If no pomegranate liqueur, you may substitute 1 oz. grenadine and 1 oz. Triple Sec.
Fire and Brimstone:
Hot and smoky: drink and repent!
2 oz. mezcal
1 oz. ginger liqueur
1 oz. pineapple
1 oz. lime
Habanero bitters to taste*
Shake with ice, serve on the rocks. Garnish with a lime twist and/or fresh ginger.
*Add AT LEAST enough bitters that you can feel the burn!
Zombie:
A classic Tiki drink, this cocktail’s name speaks for itself.
1 1/2 oz. gold rum
1 oz. dark rum
1/2 oz. white rum
1/2 oz. 151-proof rum
1 oz. lime juice
1 oz. pineapple juice
1/2 oz. coconut creme
Shake all ingredients *EXCEPT* 151 with ice, and strain into a glass of crushed ice. Float 151 on top (ignite if you so choose.)
Fright Night:
The only thing more terrifying than this cocktail is the hangover you’ll be facing in the morning.
2 oz vodka
1 oz. Blue Curacao
1 oz. Midori
1 oz. Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
1 oz. lime juice
Shake all ingredients with ice, strain, and serve over the rocks. Garnish with two maraschino cherries.
Homicide:
Serve and drink at your own risk; just don’t name me as an accomplice.
1 oz. gin
1 oz. Fernet Branca
1 oz. Kahlua
1/4 oz. Chambord
Pour all ingredients into a glass of ice and stir together. Strain into a cocktail glass or coupe. Garnish with an orange twist.
Miasma:
It’s a swirling, toxic cloud… in a glass!
3 oz. Viniq
3 oz sparkling wine
Shake Viniq, then pour into a champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine. Regret forever.
Masque of the Red Death:
A concoction of little substance and remarkable potency.
1 oz. gin
1 oz. Campari
1 oz. Sweet Vermouth
3 oz. sparkling wine
Combine gin, Campari, and vermouth in a champagne flute. Add sparkling wine and garnish with a maraschino cherry.
Jack O’Lantern:
Honestly, your best bet is just to set it on fire and never look back.
2 oz. Jack Daniels
1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
1/2 oz. pumpkin spice syrup or liqueur
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass or coupe. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.
Poltergeist:
This drink is likely to haunt you long after you kill it.
2 oz. tequila
1/2 oz. ginger liqueur
1/2 oz. grenadine
1 oz. grapefruit juice
Shake with ice, then strain into a cocktail glass or coupe.
