October 2021 | Cook Now

Top 10 Halloween Cocktails & Drinks

These Halloween cocktails deliver on flavor…and effects! Any party is better with spooky alcoholic drinks in hand.

What makes a next-level Halloween party? Halloween drinks! Themed cocktails make any party more fun, and these drinks are absolutely on brand: spooky and neon-colored. Some even bubble and smoke! Because we’re cocktail purists, we’ve added some of our favorite classic cocktails that fit the theme. Corpse Reviver, Death in the Afternoon, and Zombie are ideal 1920’s drinks that fit into ghoulish theme. Ready to get started?

Note: Plan to use dry ice in your Halloween alcoholic drinks? Read the safety and handling instructions in How to Make Dry Ice Drinks & Cocktails!

And now…the best Halloween drinks and cocktails!

Witches Brew Drink

Looking for an impressively spooky Halloween cocktail? Try the Witches Brew! Its neon green color might look menacing. But take a sip and it’s bright and sweet tart, with flavors of melon and citrus. Adding dry ice makes the brew bubble and boil, with a magic smoke that wisps into the air!

Ingredients: Midori melon liqueur, Cointreau, lemon juice

Vampire's Kiss Cocktail

Another spooky Halloween drink: try the Vampire’s Kiss! This blood red drink is simply a berry-flavored vodka martini that’s masquerading as a sinister Halloween cocktail. Give it a sip and it’s sweet tart with a fruity berry finish. Dress it up with a red sugar rim and a chunk of dry ice: it bubbles and boils with a constant stream of smoke!

Ingredients: Vodka, Chambord black raspberry liqueur, cranberry juice, lemon juice, grenadine

Halloween Punch

Here’s a spooky drink that’s over-the-top fun: Halloween Punch! This blood red cauldron magically bubbles and boils, releasing tendrils of smoke all over the room. If that’s not impressive, we’re not sure what is! On its own it’s a fruity Halloween punch for kids, but turn it into a Halloween alcoholic punch by adding aged rum.

Ingredients: Cranberry juice, apple juice or cider, ginger ale, aged rum (optional)

Pumpkin Martini

What's better for Halloween than a Pumpkin Martini? This drink is creamy and made with real pumpkin for the best natural flavor. Even better, coat the glass rim in crushed graham crackers and you get a hint of crunchy sweet in each sip! This is an ideal cocktail for impressing your friends at Halloween.

Pumpkin Old Fashioned

Looking for a Halloween cocktail that’s sippable and not too sweet? Try the Pumpkin Old Fashioned! This one is for bourbon-lovers: it’s a nuanced slow sipper with notes of vanilla, maple and spice. It’s barely sweet and bourbon-forward, ideal for sipping by the fireside or any fall occasion. While it’s bright orange, it tastes just like the Classic Old Fashioned you love…only cozier.

Ingredients: Bourbon, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla

Corpse Reviver

Here’s a classic cocktail that’s as unique as its name…the Corpse Reviver No 2! While this drink has nothing scary or ghoulish about it, it's perfect for Halloween: and it’s damn good. It’s a classic gin sour cocktail from the 1930's that’s tart and zingy from lemon juice and orange liqueur, with a hint of licorice on the finish. It’s truly a stunner.

Ingredients: gin, lemon juice, Cointreau, dry vermouth or Lillet Blanc, absinthe

Death in the Afternoon Cocktail

Here's another classic cocktail that works as a Halloween drink, too: Death in the Afternoon! This iridescent green cocktail stars the combination of absinthe and sparkling wine, and the flavor is delightfully intriguing! It’s bubbly with a black licorice finish. Invented by writer Ernest Hemingway in the 1930's, it's the perfect Halloween cocktail.

Ingredients: absinthe, Champagne or Prosecco, simple syrup

Zombie Cocktail

Here’s a Halloween cocktail that’s completely over the top…but worth it if you’re an adventurous home bartender. Meet the Zombie! This classic cocktail packs a potent punch, with four types of rum, three fruit juices and two fruit syrups. It’s totally unnecessary…but then again, that makes it more festive! This cocktail was invented in the 1930’s and was one of the first of its kind...and the name makes it perfect for Halloween parties.

Ingredients: white rum, spiced rum, dark rum, 151 rum (optional), lime juice, lemon juice, pineapple juice, passion fruit syrup, orange bitters, grenadine

Bloody Mary

Here's another classic that's on theme as a Halloween cocktail: the good old Bloody Mary! This classic drink was invented in the 1920's, and the combination of vodka and tomato juice has become one of the most popular in the world. For Halloween, add some spooky garnishes (pickled onion eyeballs, anyone?).

Ingredients: vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco sauce, celery salt, black pepper

Dark and Stormy

"It was a dark and stormy night" is the opener to many spooky tales, so it's a great easy cocktail for Halloween! Each ingredient has lots of personality: the rich, earthy dark rum, with vanilla and brown sugar notes. Add to that spicy ginger beer, fruity and filled with effervescent bubbles, and tangy lime. Even better: you can mix it up right in the glass!

Ingredients: dark rum, ginger beer and lime

Witches Brew & More Halloween Cocktails

Author: Sonja Overhiser
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 drink
Diet: Vegetarian

Print Recipe

Description

These Halloween cocktails deliver on flavor…and effects! Any party is better with spooky alcoholic drinks in hand.

Ingredients

1 ½ ounces* Midori
1 ½ ounces Cointreau or Triple Sec
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
For the garnish: 1 small dry ice cube**, cocktail cherry

Instructions

Make the drink: Add the Midori, Cointreau and lemon juice to a cocktail mixing glass (or cocktail shaker). Add 2 handfuls regular ice cubes and stir until cold. Strain the drink into a lowball glass. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.
Break the dry ice into 1-inch chunks (if using): Do this as close to the time you’ll be serving the drinks as possible, though you can buy the dry ice a few hours in advance. Start by dropping the plastic bag with the dry ice on the ground several times to allow it break into large chunks. Remember never to touch the dry ice with your bare hands! Put on goggles and gloves. Use a chisel to break the dry ice into smaller pieces using a screwdriver or ice pick. The ideal size is 1/2-inch to 1-inch chunks that are large enough to sink to the bottom of the drink, but small enough to disappear in a few minutes. Wrap the small chunks in a towel in a cooler until you’re ready to serve the drinks. Do not place the dry ice in the freezer.
Add the dry ice: Using tongs (do not touch the dry ice!), add a 1/2-inch to 1-inch chunk of dry ice to the glass, which will sink to the bottom and immediately make a smoking effect. The ice cube will disappear in about 5 minutes. Do not drink the dry ice! Wait until the cube disappears before enjoying your drink (or you can take sips with the dry ice in the bottom). Review the dry ice handling instructions above.

Notes

*To convert to tablespoons, 1 ounce = 2 tablespoons

**Dry ice is available at many grocery stores and comes in a large block. Buy it a few hours before you plan to serve the drinks (it does not store in the freezer). Read more about Dry Ice Safety here.

Category: Drink
Method: Shaken
Cuisine: Cocktails

Keywords: Halloween cocktails, Halloween cocktail recipes

More cocktail recipes

There are so many cocktails to try outside of these Halloween drinks! Here are 300+ cocktail recipes for every occasion:

Classics: Try Classic Cocktails or Great Cocktail Recipes.
Easy: These Easy Mixed Drinks and Cheap Drinks have just 2 to 3 ingredients.
Fancy: Opt for the best in Craft Cocktails.
The Big 5: Try all our cocktails with Gin, Vodka, Whiskey, Tequila or Rum.
Fall Drinks: Try Fantastic Fall Drinks or Fall Cocktails for the Season.

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

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Easy Skillet Cornbread

This skillet cornbread recipe will become your go-to! Bake it up in an oven-safe or cast iron skillet and prepare to be amazed.

A good cornbread recipe is a necessity for the home cook, we’ve found. Cornbread is easy, goes with just about anything and it always, always satisfies. Here’s a favorite of ours: this Skillet Cornbread recipe! It’s great in a cast iron skillet, though you can use any type of oven-safe skillet that’s on hand. Bake it up and it has just the right thickness, moist crumb, and savory sweetness you want in a great cornbread.

What’s in a skillet cornbread recipe?

Cornbread is a quick bread made with cornmeal that has roots in Native American cuisine, as well as the cuisine of the American South. There are many spins on this concept, and whether it’s sweet, savory, thick or thin often depends on the region in the US. This recipe is on the savory side, hinted with just a bit of sweetness.

Often cornbread is baked in a cast-iron skillet, which makes it crispy on the outsides and moist on the inside. Most cornbread recipes have similar ingredients and method. (For this one we were partially inspired by Toni Tipton-Martin’s cookbook Jubilee: which we highly recommend!) Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

Yellow cornmeal
All-purpose flour
Granulated sugar
Baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt
Eggs
Whole milk
Salted butter

Use a cast iron skillet, or any oven safe pan

Why is cast iron skillet cornbread so delicious? You can preheat the skillet beforehand, and it becomes very hot to make a deliciously crispy exterior and soft interior. Here are a few notes on the type of skillet:

A 9 or 10 inch cast iron skillet is preferable, if you have it. Some people like to preheat the skillet for the entire oven preheat time to get the bread even crispier. For our method we do just 5 minutes to melt the butter, but you can preheat longer if you wish.
Or, any oven-safe skillet works! Just make sure it’s around 9 to 10-inches in diameter to get the ideal bread thickness.

Ways to serve this skillet cornbread recipe

Skillet cornbread is one of our favorite easy side dishes, because it goes with just about anything! Here are some toppings and ideas for making it into a meal:

Top with butter and hot honey. Honey is delicious; hot honey is even more fun! For vegan, use agave syrup or maple syrup.
Serve alongside chili. A given! Some favorites: Black Bean Chili or Quick Chili.
Add to soup. Try it with a bowl of Red Lentil Soup or White Bean Soup.
Or, serve with seafood. It’s great with a Classic Shrimp Boil, Easy Cajun Shrimp, Cajun Shrimp Pasta or Blackened Salmon.

Vegan and gluten free variations

Want to switch it up for dietary restrictions? Try these vegan and gluten-free substitutions:

Gluten free skillet cornbread: Substitute 1:1 gluten-free flour for the all purpose flour.
Vegan skillet cornbread: Make our Vegan Cornbread and cook it in a skillet following the recipe below.

More cornbread recipes

And that’s it! Let us know how you get on in the comments below. And if you’re craving other ideas, try these variations on the theme:

Try Classic Cornbread Muffins
Opt for Easy Vegan Cornbread instead! It’s a fan favorite
Make beautiful Tomato Sage Parmesan Cornbread
Go breakfast with Sweet Cornbread Waffles

This cast iron skillet cornbread recipe is…

Vegetarian. For gluten-free, see the recipe below. For vegan, go to Vegan Cornbread.