There are plenty of fun, colorful, playful cocktail recipes out there that are perfect for your Halloween bash. But if you’re looking for something that embraces spooky season but still has an air of class and sophistication to it, then Death & Co has you covered. This renowned cocktail bar in New York is known for its extensive cocktail menu and for its seasonal offerings including delicious drinks for fall.
But there’s a playful side to the drinks served as well, like these Halloween-themed drinks. These Tiki-inspired drinks use unusual ingredients like Amontillado (a particular variety of sherry) as well as several types of rum. You’ll also find classic Tiki ingredient Don’s Mix called for, and you might have to raid the very back shelf of your home bar for ingredients like Galliano, Aquavit, and Grenadine. But if you fancy stretching your cocktail skills and try out some lesser-used ingredients, these recipes are here to challenge you. Or, of course, you could always head to Death & Co to have them prepared for you by experts!
Several of these drinks also use the lesser-seen whip shake technique, in which you add ingredients to your cocktail shaker along with just a few pebbles or small cubes of ice and then shake until the ice is fully dissolved. This helps to aerate the drink and to give it a light, fluffy texture, and is a useful technique to have in your cocktail-making arsenal.
Scared Stiff
Origin: Jack Stevenson / Denver / 2023
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Timberline Vodka
- 1 oz Donn’s Mix #2
- 0.5 oz Lemon Juice
- 2 tsp Grand Marnier
- 1 tsp Galliano L’Autentico
- 1 dash Absinthe
Method:
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a double old fashioned glass and garnish with a lemon wheel and a cherry flag.
Killing Moon
Origin: Michael Berry / Denver / 2023
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Arette Blanco
- 0.5 oz Wray & Nephew
- 0.5 oz Kalani
- 0.5 oz Piña Gum
- 0.75 oz Lime Juice
- 3 dash orange bitters
- Egg white
Method:
Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker without ice, and dry shake to froth up the egg white. Then add ice to the shaker and shake again. Strain into a coupe glass, and finish with Angostura bitters art on top of the foam.
Sybil
Origin: Marc Rizzuto, Death & Co East Village
Ingredients:
- 2 oz Lustau Amontillado
- 0.5 oz Brennevin Aquavit
- 0.5 oz Orange Juice
- 0.25 oz Sesame Orgeat
- 1 tsp Cointreau
Method:
Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker along with a couple of small ice cubes, and shake until the ice cubes are fully dissolved — this achieves a lighter, more frothy texture for the drink. Then strain into a collins glass filled with crushed ice, and garnish with orange zest and caraway seeds.
Zombie Punch
Ingredients:
- 1 oz. Plantation OFTD
- 1 oz. Cana Brava
- 1 oz. Smith and Cross
- 1 oz. Don’s Mix
- 0.75 oz. Lime
- 0.5 oz. Falernum
- 0.25 oz. Grenadine
- 2 dash Absinthe
- 1 dash Angostura Bitters
Method:
Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker along with a couple of small ice cubes, and shake until the ice cubes are fully dissolved. Strain into a Tiki mug filled with crushed ice, and garnish with mint, orchid, or pineapple.
