Ghastly Spirits for Your Halloween Celebrations

Halloween may appeal to the "kid" in many of us, but when it comes to the costume party, it's much more fun to be over 21. Today, Halloween gives adults an opportunity to dress up too. But instead of candy consumption, grown up costume parties mean treats spiked with spirits.

Veteran party planner and bartender Stacy Nicoll, who now serves as the corporate bartender for Van Gogh Vodka, suggests creating drinks and garnishes that are inspired by Halloween traditions and legends.

"If you want your Halloween costume party to stand out, you have do more than just serve run of the mill cocktails," says Nicoll. "Instead, serve drinks with Halloween names like the Grim Reaper or the Eyeball Martini. And for garnish, get creative using the crazy decorations you find this time of year, like plastic spiders or gummy worm candies."

According to Nicoll, you don't have to be a master mixologist to create a unique cocktail menu. You just need to have a little creativity and get in the spirit of the day. Here are a few of her suggestions for drinks and garnishes that will impress guests:

Grim Reaper
1 oz. Van Gogh Double Espresso® Vodka, 1 oz. white chocolate liqueur, 4 oz. Guinness Stout
Mix vodka and liqueur in a shot glass then pour Guinness into a pint glass. Drop shooter into pint glass and shoot entire glass.

Eyeball Martini
3 oz. Van Gogh Vodka or Van Gogh Gin, hint of dry vermouth
Pour ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for five seconds and strain into martini glass. Garnish with an olive stuffed radish that has been scored to create the "veins" of an eyeball.

Booberry Martini
2 oz. Van Gogh Acai-Blueberry® Vodka, 1 oz. white chocolate liqueur, 1 oz. amaretto
Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for five seconds, then strain mixture into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with skewered blueberries and/or marshmallow ghost.

Spider Cider
2 oz. Van Gogh Wild Appel Vodka, 2 oz. sour apple schnapps, ½ fill with cranberry juice, ½ fill with apple juice
Freeze plastic/gummy spiders in ice cubes and build your drink in a pint glass filled with the spider packed ice.

White Spider
1 ½ oz. Van Gogh Mojito Mint Vodka, ½ oz. white crème de menthe
Pour ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for five seconds. Strain mixture into chilled martini glass and garnish with plastic or gummy spiders.

If the cocktails just aren't creepy enough for your Halloween bash, Nicoll recommends jell-o shooters to enhance the evening. "I like to add gummy worms, spiders and other eerie candies to the shots to play on the theme of the evening."

Creepy Crawly Jell-O Shooters
2 cups Van Gogh Vodka (any flavor), 3 cups water, 3 packages Jell-O (any flavor), gummy worms
In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Once boiling add Jell-O and stir until completely dissolved, then stir two additional minutes. Add the vodka and stir. Pour the mixture into clear plastic shot glasses and chill. Before the shots are completely firm, add a gummy worm to each cup. Let set in refrigerator until firm.

With a party menu like this, there won't be any tricks for guests, just treats at this year's costume parties. For more cocktail ideas, party planning tips and cooking recipes visit www.VanGoghVodka.com.