4 Spooky Halloween-Themed Cocktails
Thanks to our friend and podcast guest Julia Halina Hadas, Founder and Mixologist at Witchcraft Cocktails, for creating these for the show.
Although the world may be shut down this Halloween, you can still celebrate this spooky holiday with these boo-sy drinks from Julia at Witchcraft Cocktails. This blog coincides with our most recent podcast that featured Julia to discuss these cocktails, some food and candy pairings, and even a live demo from Julia making us one of these delicious cocktails. With ingredients many of us have stocked on our home bars, these cocktails were concocted with the home cocktail-artist in mind.
If you find you’re missing some ingredients, we recommend stocking up on the essentials as they would make great staples to add to your bar. These will expand the array of cocktails that you have access to you in your own home! If you are looking for more cocktail recipes, Julia’s blog and her book “Witchcraft Cocktails” are a great resource. You can pick up the book HERE.
Black Sun
a Spicy Margarita with Ghost Tequila
The Recipe:
- 1.5 Oz. of Ghost Tequila
- 1 Oz. of Lime Juice (Fresh Squeezed is best)
- .5 Oz. of Agave Syrup
- 1 Oz. of Blood Orange Juice
- Black Salt for the rim of the glass
- Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
This one is simple! Combine all of the ingredients in a shaker with some ice, shake, and strain it into a glass. For the rim, cut a notch in a quarter-slice of lime, slide it around the glass until it is coated with lime juice, then dip the glass into a shallow dish filled with the salt. This is optional but will definitely add some Halloween color to your cocktail.
We recommend pouring this recipe into a margarita glass, if available. But, you can always enjoy in a traditional highball glass.
Candy Pairing: Atomic Fireballs, Starburst, Dark Chocolate with Chili Pepper
Witch’s Wand
an Appletini with a Twist
The Recipe:
- .75 Oz. Bourbon
- 1 Oz. Sour Apple Schnapps
- .5 Oz. Lemon Juice
- .5 Oz. Vanilla Simple Syrup
- 2 Dashes Walnut Bitters
- 2-4 Dashes Rosewater (optional)
- .25 Oz. Elderflower Liqueur
You can pull this one together by combining all of your ingredients in a shaker with ice, and strain into a glass. We recommend using a martini glass or coupe glass if you have any on hand. You can also replace the walnut bitters and vanilla syrup with Proof Black Walnut Cocktail Syrup to mix up the flavor.
Candy Pairing: Sour Patch Kids, Sour Apple Jolly Ranchers, Caramel/Candy Apples
Basic Witch
a Pumpkin Spice Martini
The Recipe:
- 2 Oz. Vodka
- .5 Oz. Amaretto
- .5 Oz. Proof Pumpkin Spice Syrup
- .5 Oz. Cinnamon Schnapps
- .5 Oz. Half and Half
Combine all of the ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake, and strain into your glass. We recommend straining into a martini glass or coupe glass. You can use either plain or vanilla vodka to sweeten the flavor in your glass.
Candy Pairing: Reese’s Cups, Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Pie, Cinnamon Sugar Donut
Coffee Ouija
an Espresso Martini with some additions
The Recipe:
- 1/8 Oz. Absinthe
- 2 Oz. Gin
- 4 Dashes of Walnut Bitters
- 1 Oz.Coffee Liqueur
- .5 Oz. of Vanilla Simple Syrup
- .75 Oz. of Coffee or Espresso
This recipe requires a couple of extra steps but is worth the effort. It starts with making some real coffee. Drip or French press are fine but espresso will kick the coffee flavor up a notch. Expect more coffee flavor and less gin if this is the approach you take. Drip coffee will be the most mild and most gin-heavy.
Rinse your Martini glass with some absinthe if you have it, this step can be skipped but definitely adds a twist of flavor and a slight green hue to the glass. Add the absinth to your glass and swirl it around, then tilt the glass until the absinthe reaches the rim and spin the glass slowly for a full coat. Once coated, shake the excess out to discard it. Combine the remaining ingredients in a shaker with ice (ice is most important in this cocktail to cool off the hot, fresh coffee). Shake the cocktail and strain it into your absinthe rinsed glass. Top it off with three coffee beans for garnish!
Candy Pairing: Heath Bar, Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans, Tootsie Roll, Root Beer Barrels, Nonni’s Biscottis, Kit Kat
Some of these cocktails were designed to be compatible with Proof Cocktail Syrups. These syrups are a great way to reduce the total number of ingredients but still achieve a great cocktail. For the walnut in vanilla in these recipes, we highly recommend trying the Black Walnut Proof Cocktail Syrup.
If you want to give the podcast a listen, you can find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and many other podcast platforms. Alternatively, find the video here on YouTube.