Spook-tacular tipples you can stir at home

Your Halloween party is incomplete without some cocktails.

It’s the day when the dead rise up again, or so they say. We are pretty sure very few know the real reason why Halloween is celebrated. As the trend to celebrate continues to rise in India, we are looking at it as an excuse to dress up as our favourite evil, spooky, or mean characters.

And, if there’s anything we have learnt from Western shows and films, it’s that Halloween is the day to drink and treat yourself. This means whether you are dressing up as a witch/wizard or not, you need to stir the pot and create some boozy drinks. We scoured the internet for some spooky ideas for tipples that you can get creative with if you are keen to celebrate. Try out these cool cocktail recipes we found. 

Eye-See-You Martini

Olive (or lychee) eyeballs make any tipple frightfully delicious! This cocktail recipe by Good Housekeeping magazine is simple to recreate at home. Really, all you need are some olives because we know lychee may not be in season where you are based. 

Ingredients:

• Bright green pitted olives
• Spicy pickled peppers or pieces of pickled red cherry peppers
• Peeled and pitted lychees
• Blueberries
• Vodka or your favourite homegrown gin
• Dry vermouth (optional)
• Ice
• Lemon twist

Directions:

• Step 1: Fill olives with peppers and make a set of 2 using a toothpick
• Step 2: Fill each lychee with 1 blueberry and make a set of 2 using a toothpick
• Step 3: For each martini, add 1/4 cup vodka or gin and 1 Tbsp dry vermouth to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until very cold. Pour into a coupe glass, twist the lemon peel over the drink, then discard the lemon peel. Serve with lychee or olive “eyes.”

Sparkling Blood Cocktail

Pomegranate juice is what you need to make anything look bloody. And, Good Housekeeping magazine knows. That’s why this cocktail recipe – which is easy and requires only a few steps – is worth trying out at home. It’s also deliciously refreshing! This is also a great winter recipe that you can sip on through the not-so-cold months in India.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice
• Pomegranate arils (seeds)
• 1 750 ml bottle of sparkling wine
• Fresh rosemary sprigs, for garnish

Directions:

• Step 1: Fill an ice cube tray with pomegranate juice leaving about 1/8 inch at the top. Freeze until solid.
• Step 2: For each serving, fill a highball glass with a few pomegranate ice cubes and pomegranate arils. Top with sparkling wine and a fresh rosemary sprig, if desired.

Ghoul Beer

Green food dye makes everything ghoulish! This is the easiest way to make this seem spooky. Although  not exactly a cocktail recipe, all this needs is some green dye. Whether you want to use food colouring or something more natural like matcha, that’s upto you. 

Ingredients:

• Green food dye OR Matcha
• Beer 

Directions:

• Using green food dye: For a deep green, add two drops of green food colouring to one bottle of light-coloured beer (any brand will do). For a lighter hue, stick to one drop. 
• Using matcha: Add 1 teaspoon of matcha powder to a bowl and add beer little by little. Whisk the mixture until the powder is completely dissolved.

Keep in mind, the taste of beer may alter slightly with matcha and the beer will turn an olive green. 

Good Housekeeping magazine highlights more options that can add a natural green to your beer as well. Although, they are likely to alter the taste of your beer.

Black Magic Margaritas

There is no cocktail creepier than this! Fret not, it does not require doing any sort of black magic. Instead, this cocktail recipe simply needs you to use a mix of food colouring. This recipe by Delish is one of the easiest margaritas we have come across. 

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. black sanding sugar
• 2 cups ice
• 100 ml silver tequila
• 60 ml triple sec
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• Red food colouring
• Blue food colouring
• Green food colouring
• Lime slices, for garnish

Directions:

• Step 1: Rim two glasses with a lime slice and dip in black sanding sugar.
• Step 2: Divide tequila, triple sec, and lime juice between two glasses and stir to combine. Add food colouring until the desired black colour is achieved.
• Step 3: Add ice and garnish with a slice of lime before serving.

Glowing Jello Shots

It’s not a party till there are some shots, right? Delish believes that too and that’s why this cocktail recipe shows you how to create them. It’s always interesting to see recipes that show you how to have fun with jelly. Give this a try and tell us what you think.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups tonic water, divided
• 2 packages of jelly mix (two flavours; the recipe uses pineapple and orange)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup vodka

Directions:

• Step 1: Make the first layer: Pour one cup of tonic water into a pot over high heat. Once it comes to a boil, add the pineapple jelly mix. Whisk until the mix has dissolved, then pour in half a cup of water and half a cup of vodka. Stir to combine.
• Step 2: Pour the jelly mix into shot glasses, filling them about two-thirds of the way up. Place in the refrigerator to chill, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Step 3: Make the second layer: As they set, start making the orange jelly, following the same process used for the pineapple jelly.
• Step 4: Top each of the pineapple jelly shot glasses with the orange jelly mix. Return the shots to the fridge to set, for 2 to 3 hours.