13 Best Halloween Cocktail Recipes

In Cold Blood
Photo: David Malosh

Tricks and treats aside, a delicious signature cocktail is an absolute must for even the most bare-bones (get it?) Halloween event. But there's no need to worry. Just for you, we've gathered a complete list of the darkest and spookiest Halloween drink recipes to mix. From scary-good sangria to oozy, boozy punches, these easy cocktail recipes are perfect for an eerily terrific Halloween.

01 of 13

Dark and Stormy Death Punch

Dark and Stormy Death Punch
© David Malosh

This is a Halloween take on the Dark and Stormy, a classic rum and ginger beer drink. Floating in the punch bowl are round ice cubes made with lychee syrup and lychees stuffed with brandied cherries, which have an uncanny resemblance to eyeballs. There is nothing quite like drinking a cocktail with eyeballs.

02 of 13

Pomegranate and Tequila Cocktail

Pomegranate-and-Tequila Cocktail

© JOHN KERNICK

This festive variation of a margarita is made with pomegranate syrup, silver tequila, and fresh lime juice. Its blood-like hue makes it the absolute perfect choice for a gruesome, ghoulish Halloween. You can pass out single servings or make a big batch in a punch bowl — there's nothing more Halloween than a big bowl of blood.

03 of 13

Mother's Ruin Punch

Mother's Ruin Punch
© Quentin Bacon

Classicist bartenders have resurrected the centuries-old ritual of the formal punch service, which is something you can totally employ at your own Halloween celebration. Here, Philip Ward makes a potent concoction filled with vermouth, Champagne, and citrus that's named after the old British slang for gin.

04 of 13

Blood & Sand

Blood & Sand
© Lucas Allen

This classic cocktail is perfectly fruity and only faintly smoky — an approachable drink for people who aren't sure they like Scotch and with a name like Blood & Sand, it's perfectly suited for Halloween. Not to mention it has only six ingredients, so it's a super-easy mixed drink to concoct.

05 of 13

Matcha Highball

Matcha Highball
Lucas Allen

This cocktail is green as a ghoul. A trip to Japan inspired Denver bartender Jason Patz to combine matcha (a vivid green tea powder) with Japanese whisky. Matcha tends to clump when mixed with liquid; to loosen any that's stuck to the side of the shaker, swirl the club soda in the shaker before pouring it into the glass.

06 of 13

Blood Peach Bellini

Halloween, Halloween drinks, cocktails

© Lucas Allen

The Blood Peach Bellini was originally made using super-seasonal summer blood peaches. This variation, which we think is just as good, combines Campari, grenadine, and white peach puree to approximate the rare fruit's flavor and color, which is bright blood red and ideal for Halloween.

07 of 13

Philadelphia Fish House Punch

Philadelphia Fish House Punch
© Tina Rupp

Cocktail historians Paul Harrington and Laura Moorhead trace this brilliant orange cocktail back to 1732, when Philadelphia's Schuylkill Fishing Club began every meeting with a bowl of this potent punch.

08 of 13

In Cold Blood

In Cold Blood
David Malosh

The name in and of itself qualifies this as a Halloween mixed drink. It's a popular order at Portland Hunt & Alpine Club in Maine. The drink, according to owner Andrew Volk, is "approachable but geeky with the salt" — which he adds to balance the bitterness of the artichoke-flavored aperitif Cynar.

09 of 13

Cranberry-Spice Cocktail

Cranberry-Spice Cocktail

© Johnny Valiant

The numerous cranberries in this delicious concoction perfectly complement the hard cider and the Aperol. And did we mention the color? Here we are back to the delicious drinks that resemble blood. Because it's Halloween and blood is scary and there's really nothing more frightening than drinking blood.

10 of 13

Kimchi Bloody Mary

Kimchi Bloody Mary
Tara Fisher

This clever Bloody Mary variation gets its heat and flavor from pureed kimchi, along with a dash of sriracha chile sauce.

11 of 13

Riesling Sangria with Lychees

Riesling Sangria with Lychees
© John Kernick

"Our consulting beverage director, Peter Vestinos, makes fun of my drinks because they're always a little sweeter than he likes," says chef Bill Kim. Kim's fruit-filled sangria is a bit sweet, yes, but it's also refreshing, thanks to the lemon juice.

12 of 13

Dark 'n Stormy

Dark & Stormy
© Wendell T. Webber

According to a Gosling's Rum tale, this drink was invented more than 100 years ago when members of Bermuda's Royal Naval Officer's Club added a splash of the local rum to their spicy homemade ginger beer. They described its ominous hue as "the color of a cloud only a fool or dead man would sail under."

13 of 13

Oaxacan Coffee

Oaxacan Coffee
Victor Protasio

With a float of whipped cream and just enough sweetness to temper the bitter coffee and herbal notes in the mezcal, this deep, dark spiked coffee cocktail is well-balanced and fortifying.

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