Halloween cocktails can go in all sorts of directions. Sometimes, an outrageously theatrical serve is exactly what the occasion calls for.
But there is another way. If you’re after something a little more classic, plenty of genuinely great cocktails already have Halloween covered: sinister names, strange histories, ghostly colours and the occasional alarming shade of green.
So, from a Corpse Reviver to a Zombie, here are 10 Halloween cocktail recipes that bring the atmosphere without compromising on what’s in the glass.
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Corpse Reviver No. 2
Let’s start with a cocktail literally designed to bring you back from the dead.
The Corpse Reviver No. 2 is a brilliantly bright combination of gin, citrus and aromatised wine, finished with just enough absinthe to give it a slightly mysterious edge. Despite the name, it’s fresh, elegant and extremely drinkable.
You’ll need
- 25ml gin
- 25ml Cointreau or triple sec
- 25ml Lillet Blanc
- 25ml fresh lemon juice
- 4ml absinthe
- Lemon peel, to garnish
How to make a Corpse Reviver No. 2
Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well, then strain into a chilled coupe glass.
Finish with a twist of lemon peel.
A Wolf's Kiss
One of our own – and made for the occasion.
A Wolf’s Kiss pairs Wicked Wolf Bad Moon Gin with juicy cherry, warming black pepper and bittersweet pink grapefruit for a long, refreshing Halloween cocktail with rather more going for it than a spooky name.
You’ll need
- 35ml Wicked Wolf Bad Moon Gin
- 100ml Three Cents Pink Grapefruit Soda
- 15ml Cherry & Black Pepper Cocktail Syrup
- Fresh lemon zest, to garnish
How to make A Wolf’s Kiss
Add your gin to a highball glass and top up with grapefruit soda. Fill the glass with cubed ice up to the brim, then drizzle your Cherry & Black Pepper Syrup over your drink. Garnish with fresh lemon zest.
White Lady
Ghostly by name, properly classic by nature.
The White Lady keeps things beautifully simple: gin, orange liqueur and fresh lemon shaken together for a crisp, citrusy cocktail with plenty of bite. Adding egg white will create a beautiful light foam on the top of your drink.
- 50ml gin
- 25ml triple sec
- 15ml lemon juice
- 1 egg white or vegan foamer
How to make a White Lady
Combine your ingredients in a cocktail shaker without ice and dry shake for 20 seconds, until the egg white or foamer is emulsified. Add ice and shake again, straining into a chilled cocktail coupe and serving straightaway.
Satan's Whiskers
We’re not entirely sure what Satan’s facial hair has to do with cocktails. But when the drink is this good, we’re prepared to go with it.
Satan’s Whiskers sits somewhere between a Martini and a citrusy aperitif, bringing together gin, two vermouths, orange liqueur, fresh orange and bitters.
You’ll need
- 20ml gin
- 20ml dry vermouth
- 20ml sweet vermouth
- 10ml Grand Marnier
- 20ml freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 dashes orange bitters
- Orange peel, to garnish
How to make a Satan’s Whiskers
Add everything except the garnish to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
Shake well and fine-strain into a chilled coupe. Express a strip of orange peel over the drink before dropping it in.
Zombie
Created in the golden age of tiki, the Zombie takes a few more bottles to make than your average cocktail, but the result is worth it.
You’ll need
- 25ml dark rum
- 25ml white rum
- 10ml overproof rum
- 25ml fresh lime juice
- 25ml grapefruit juice
- 150ml pineapple juice
- 15ml grenadine
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- Fresh mint sprig and lime wedge, to garnish
How to make a Zombie
Add the dark rum, white rum, lime juice, grapefruit juice, pineapple juice, grenadine and bitters to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well, then strain into a tall glass filled with fresh ice.
To finish, gently pour the overproof rum over the back of a spoon so it sits on top of the drink as a float. (Flaming is optional but fun - just remember to blow it out before you pop in your straw!). Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint and a lime wedge.
Bloody Mary
One of very few occasions when a glass of something blood-red requires absolutely no Halloween trickery.
A good Bloody Mary is savoury, spicy, citrusy and entirely adaptable to your own tolerance for heat. And, importantly, it's a classic in its own right.
You’ll need
- 45ml vodka
- 90ml tomato juice
- 15ml fresh lemon juice
- 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
- Tabasco, to taste
- Celery salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Celery stick, lemon wedge and olives to garnish
How to make a Bloody Mary
Add all the ingredients to a mixing glass with ice and stir gently until chilled.
Pour into a rocks glass, or a tall glass over fresh ice if you prefer, and garnish with celery, lemon and olives.
Taste before serving and adjust the spice and seasoning as required. The Bloody Mary is nothing if not personal.
Grasshopper
Very green. Very retro. Very good.
The Grasshopper is an old-school after-dinner cocktail made from equal parts mint liqueur, chocolate liqueur and cream. Think liquid after-dinner mint in a ghoulish shade of green.
You’ll need
- 20ml green crème de menthe
- 20ml white crème de cacao
- 20ml fresh cream
- Mint leaf, to garnish (optional)
How to make a Grasshopper
Pour all three ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
Shake briskly until cold, then strain into a chilled coupe or cocktail glass.
That green colour? Entirely part of the original.
Death in the Afternoon
Two ingredients. One exceptionally Halloween-appropriate name.
Death in the Afternoon combines the distinctive aniseed and herbal character of absinthe with dry sparkling wine. As the two meet, the drink takes on its characteristic cloudy, almost ghostly appearance.
You’ll need
- 25ml absinthe
- 100–125ml chilled Champagne or dry sparkling wine
- Fresh lemon zest, to garnish
How to make Death in the Afternoon
Pour the absinthe into a chilled Champagne flute or coupe.
Slowly top with the sparkling wine and watch the drink turn beautifully cloudy as you pour. Garnish with lemon zest and serve.
Simple. Slightly strange. Exactly what we’re after.
El Diablo
Spanish for “the devil”, which saves us having to work particularly hard to justify this one.
El Diablo brings together tequila, blackcurrant, lime and ginger for a long drink that manages to be dark, fruity, tart and fiery all at once.
You’ll need
- 45ml reposado tequila
- 15ml crème de cassis
- 15ml fresh lime juice
- 90ml ginger beer
- Lime wedge, to garnish
How to make an El Diablo
Add the tequila, crème de cassis and lime juice to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until chilled.
Strain into an ice-filled Collins or highball glass, top with ginger beer and garnish with a lime wedge.
Blood and Sand
Despite sounding like something you might find in a particularly gruesome horror film, the Blood and Sand is a bona fide classic.
Scotch, cherry liqueur, sweet vermouth and orange juice come together in equal parts to create something fruity and rich, with enough whisky character underneath to keep everything in check.
You’ll need
- 25ml Scotch whisky
- 25ml cherry liqueur
- 25ml sweet vermouth
- 25ml fresh orange juice
- Orange peel, to garnish
How to make a Blood and Sand
Add all four ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
Shake well, then fine-strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a twist of orange peel.
Halloween cocktails, the classic way
The best Halloween cocktail is ultimately the one you want to drink. And if your tastes lean towards the classics, there’s plenty to work with before you even start inventing something new.
Look for the things that make a drink fit the occasion naturally: the eerie green of a Grasshopper, the blood-red Bloody Mary, or names like Zombie, El Diablo and Corpse Reviver that really need no further explanation.
And if you’re looking for suitably curious bottles, cocktail ingredients and serves for 31st October (and beyond), we’ve done some of the discovering for you.