I made one of these once and a boozy Halloween party and it was the hit of the evening. I highly recommend that you set it up outdoors if using a real pumpkin. They look beautiful and work well as a bowl but … pumpkins leak; I found that one out the hard way the next a.m.. Mopping up a floor covered with sticky Halloween punch while suffering a hangover is not the way to kick off November.

Here we go -

• Half Gallon Apple Cider
• Close to a fifth of dark or gold Rum
• 3 regular or one large bottle(s) of Ginger Beer
• One med-sized, hollowed out, pumpkin

Close to party time, fill your hollowed out pumpkin or pumpkin punch bowl with the cider, rum and ginger beer, stir and add a frozen block of ice to keep things cold. Have your guests ladle the punch into punch cups.

If you’re fortunate enough to have a chilly week around Halloween, mix up a batch of Hot Spiced Cider. In the evenings before Halloween, I’ll pull out an old television set, hook up my DVD player and gather neighbors for Monster Movies out in the car (bar) port.  Sure it gets cool, but that’s fall. This drink will set things right.

Here we go –

• 2 quarts apple cider
• 4 cloves
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 5 shots Applejack or Apple Brandy

Heat cider with cloves and cinnamon, add booze and stir. Pat the rims of mugs in brown sugar and serve the cider in them.

I’m certain Freddy Kruger, Jason and Michael Myers sit back and enjoy one of these before a night of coed killing. It has an autumn appeal, and really tastes like an October cocktail.

Here we go –

• 1 ½ oz Bourbon
• ½ oz. Cherry Brandy

Combine ingredients in an Old-Fashioned glass over ice. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

While usually considered a tropical cooler, this summer classic can and should be dusted off the week around Halloween. It’s all about the name, and drinking a Zombie while watching a zombie tare the guts out of some poor unfortunate in an old movie is just too fun an experience to pass on. This drink does call for an assortment of rums so plan ahead.

Here we go –

• ¾ oz 90 proof Rum
• 1 ½ oz Gold Rum
• ¾ oz Light or White Rum
• ¾ oz pineapple juice
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tsp super fine sugar
• 1 tablespoon 151 proof Rum

Mix al the ingredients except the 151 rum in a shaker with cracked ice. Shake ‘til cold and pour it all into a tall (hopefully Halloween appropriate) glass or mug. Float the 151 rum on top by softly pouring it over the back of a spoon slightly above the drink. Dust the drink with powdered sugar and turn on a zombie movie.

One of the few “modern cocktails” I’m including, this is a tasty, fun drink to enjoy while celebrating Halloween. This recipe comes from the Red Brick Tavern in Lafayette, Ohio where the ghost of a scorned young woman is said to roam the bar.

Here we go –

• 2 oz of mixed Cranberry and Pineapple juices
• 2 oz 7-Up soda
• 1 ½ oz Malibu, coconut Rum

Mix the 7-up and juices in a double old-fashioned glass with ice. Pour the rum down the inside of the glass right before serving.

I have this one listed over in my Autumn Cocktail list too, but I have to also include the AJ Rabbit on my Halloween Drink List. It’s just such a fall drink and Halloween is such a fall festival, the two are a perfect paring. Try and find real maple syrup for this one. The kid’s Mrs. Butterworth won’t do at all.
Here we go –

• 2 oz Laird’s Applejack
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 2 oz orange juice
• 3/4 oz real maple syrup

Shake all ingredients with cracked ice in a shaker. Serve up and ice-cold in a cocktail glass, garnish with an apple slice, light the jack-o-lantern up and enjoy.

They’re a true seasonal sensation and can only be found for around two months. Pumpkin ales, unlike other Harvest Ales and Oktoberfest beers are really brewed to be enjoyed at Halloween time. I’ve tried plenty and here are three that I found to be excellent.

• Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale
• Post Road Pumpkin Ale
• Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale (i.m.o., the best one out there)

If you can’t find these three, I urge you to purchase a six of one you can. The pumpkin, nutmeg and cinnamon flavors combine to really provide you with a unique drinking experience.

Even if you’re not planning a party this year and just want to keep things “close to home” on or around Halloween, you can still enjoy a themed cocktail or two as your kids get ready or while the family carves pumpkins and fires up the monster movies. As I’ve said in previous Halloween posts, I adore the holiday; maybe on account that it’s such a visual celebration. The blacks, oranges, browns and yellows combine with the cool weather and early darkness to lift spirits and instill a sense of fun to the week falling at the end of October.

If you’ve decided to invite friends over, or just sit out in lawn chairs as the night unfolds, these drink picks and ambient hi-fi choices should really add to the night when the thin veil between our world and the one of the supernatural is…. most thin…(cue scary laugh).

The Dracula Cocktail

Borrowed from The Playboy Bar Guide, this name-appropriate cocktail can be batched for home entertaining ahead of time. Just pour the amount needed in a small shaker with ice for each individual drink. Dracula will pour red so you get your “pop” as you pass one to your guest. Work on your Bela Lugosi accent ahead of time. You’ll need it as you host.

Here we go –

• 2 oz white rum
• ½ tsp grenadine (yes…you can use Roses)
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 4 oz cranberry cocktail
• couple dashes Angostura bitters
• Shake well w/ ice, pour into a tall rocks glass. Add more ice if necessary.

Night Shade

For a “friendly” cocktail which can be enjoyed by most boys & ghouls over the age of 21, this odd little Halloween addition is actually quite complex and runs deep enough to also satisfy the more serious drinker at your Monster Mash. The juice and fruit provide the cut for the casual, yet the chartreuse & whiskey pack the punch. Serve it in those plastic, spooky Halloween martini cups you find at the party store. This is a great cocktail!

Here we go –

• 1 ½ oz bourbon
• ½ oz sweet vermouth
• ½ – 1 oz orange juice
• ½ tsp yellow chartreuse
• Shake ingredients w/ ice in a shaker till cold. Strain up into a cocktail glass & garnish with a slice of lemon and orange.

Black Devil

For the dads out there brave enough to sport horns, a red trident and a tail, here’s the perfect martini-type cocktail to go along with your El Diablo outfit. I like a nice white rum, and I love black olives, so this one is a nice change of pace, on occasion, from my beloved martini. I use the Appleton White Rum in this drink and, served iced-cold, you can’t go wrong. The name screams Halloween to me but…you can actually whip one of these up anytime.

Here we go –

• 2 oz white rum (Appleton is the one)
• ½ oz dry vermouth

Mix as you would your favorite martini, serve up in a clear cocktail glass and garnish with 2-3 black olives.

Blue Devil

One of those gasp-inducing drinks that is horrifically perfect for a Halloween party or simple gathering, the Blue Devil should go swell with most adult costumes. Think of it as a boozy accent piece to your sexy nun outfit or your zombie mask, that happens to taste great and will leave you even more likely to be less inhibited before the night is done with you. The kind of drink that will have you waking up on November 1st asking, through your sandpapered mouth, “Did I really do that last night?” Bartender’s warning: please be careful with the Blue Devil. Just ‘cause it’s Halloween, try not to blame The Devil for your outlandish deeds after the fact.

Here we go –

• 1 ½ oz gin
• ½ oz blue curacao
• 1 oz lemon juice

Shake with ice and serve chilled and up in a cocktail glass. Garnish with a floating lemon or orange slice.

Acapulco Zombie

I guess there would be zombies in Acapulco in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Zombie cliff-divers and zombies selling piñatas & paper flowers would be roaming and diving all over the destination spot. For me, the Zombie is a natural for a Halloween cocktail. This one’s a heck of a lot easier to build than the traditional Zombie I’ve highlighted in previous Halloween and tiki posts. Yet another easy & spooky drink to batch ahead of time, this cocktail would work wonderfully for a party or any creature-feature get together.

Here we go –

• 1 ½ oz tequila
• 1 ½ oz vodka
• 1 ½ oz dark rum
• 2 oz orange juice
• 2 oz grapefruit juice
• 1 tsp grenadine
• dash or two of white crème de menthe

Shake all ingredients except crème de menthe in a shaker till cold. Pour into a hi-ball glass over ice & top with a couple dashes of the crème de menthe. Stir softly and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Screaming Banana Banshee

Sure, we’ve all known one, a few of us unfortunate enough to have married one…but isn’t it fun to learn that you can actually drink a screaming banshee, too? This is a perfect drink to enjoy at home, by yourself, or with your partner while carving pumpkins (be careful w/ knives & booze…maybe just watch), or hosting a small party. The cream/banana component makes them a bit thick and sweet so I’d only plan on enjoying one or two, tops. Don’t plan an evening around this drink, but if you’re mixing it up with a few Halloween drink choices, this should go into the rotation.

Here we go –

• ½ oz banana liqueur
• ½ oz vodka
• ½ oz crème de cacao (either light or dark, doesn’t matter)
• 1 ½ oz light cream

Shake in shaker along with cracked ice till freezing & frothy; strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with cherry.

Some Lost Halloween Sounds to Complete the Evening

I almost didn’t mention these, even though I’ve gone years now including these recordings in my own Halloween celebrations.  I lean heavily on jazz while celebrating the season, but besides the cool vibe some 50’s and 60’s Miles, Chet & Peterson provide as part of my annual venture into the haunted, I also love creating some original Halloween atmosphere. Ghost stories, spooky sounds, monster movie soundtracks, they go great with these drinks, too. Here are just a couple atmospheric point-outs which can only add to your ouiji-board antics or All Hallows Eve festivities.

Well, folks…enjoy your Halloween with the above suggestions. Have fun, be safe and remember to look under your beds and bars before you turn the lights off. Who knows what sort of “creatures of the night” or drunk neighbors have slithered in while you were busy shaking that shaker. “Boo!”