Halloween Cocktail Recipes
Bring the backyard to the bar with these scarily seasonal drinks.
Image courtesy of The Third Man
While the kids roam the streets for tricks and treats, adults toast the holiday with drinks packed with seasonal flavors. Apples, pumpkins, blood oranges and even the dreaded ghost chili bring the haunted harvest from the backyard to the bar.
Wolf's Blood — The Third Man, New York City
Howling at the moon is thirsty business. Make your own blood orange liqueur to spice up this signature drink.
- 2 ounces rye whiskey
- ½ ounce vermouth
- ½ ounce blood orange liqueur (recipe follows)
- 1 dash bitters
- 1 dash orange bitters
Build in a mixing glass and stir. Serve in a stemmed glass with a flamed orange peel.
Blood Orange Liqueur
- 1 cup vodka
- 1 cup rum
- 5 blood orange
- 5-6 allspice pods
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup sugar
Peel oranges and add peels to vodka and rum. Cover and let sit for 48 hours. Juice oranges and heat with water, allspice and sugar until the mixture thickens. Remove allspice pods. Remove the peels from the alcohol and combine it with the sugar mixture. Let cool.
Image courtesy of Butter
Ghost Margarita — Butter, New York City
The only spirit in this drink in tequila, but the name comes from the ghost chili, which imparts its spicy flavor through a simple syrup.
- 2 ounces tequila
- ½ ounce Grand Mariner
- ½ ounce lime juice
- ½ ounce lemon juice
- 1.5 ounce ghost chili simple syrup
Dust the rim of the glass with salt mixed with some dried ghost chili or red pepper flakes. Combine all ingredient into a cocktail shaker and pour over ice.
Ghost chili simple syrup
- 1 cup water
- ¾ cup superfine sugar
- 1 smidge dried ghost chili
Warm all ingredients over low heat, whisking until sugar dissolves. Strain and check for heat level.
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Mela — A Voce, New York City
Wine director Olivier Flosse uses local upstate New York apples for the apple puree in this "intense and rich cocktail that's on the sweeter side."
- 2 ounces Calvados
- 1 ounce apple cider
- ¼ ounce lemon juice
- 1 large scoop of baked apple puree
- Fresh cinnamon
Shake all ingredients and double strain into a martini glass. Garnish with freshly grated cinnamon and an apple peel.
Apple puree
- 2 apples
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoons cinnamon
Thinly slice the apples and toss them with the sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes and puree in a food processor.
Sleepy Hollow —James Republic, Long Beach, California
SoCal mixologist Melodie Murphy uses Kabocha pumpkin from local farmers markets for the puree in this drink, named after the Washington Irving classic.
- 2 ounces bourbon
- 2 ounces pumpkin puree
- 3 dashes maple bitters
Shake and strain into a saucer glass. Serve straight up and garnish with nutmeg.
