Spirits You'll Want at Your Halloween Party

The idea of our modern Halloween evolved from All Hallow's Eve, in which it was believed the dead came back to haunt the living for one night. To avoid these spirits, people dressed up in their own hideous disguises, hoping to be mistaken for a creature of the night.

Nowadays, enjoy dressing up in costume for Halloween parties, and likely instead of avoiding "spirits," they may actually seek them out in liquid form.

Here, then, is a list of cocktails you might want to think about serving at your Halloween party that are themed toward the holiday.

1. Witch's brew punch - Equal parts vodka and peach Schnapps and a two-to-one ratio of orange juice and 7-Up mixed in a punch bowl. We served some version of this the first couple years of our annual Halloween party and it has always been a favorite for our living dead. Different years have seen different variations, with Triple Sec being added, as well as a couple of scoops of green sherbet to give it an unholy coloring. To add to the creepiness, fill rubber gloves with water and secure the wrists with a rubber band. Put in the freezer on a wax paper-covered cookie sheet. When frozen, cut the glove off and place hands in punch. Add green food coloring to the water to enhance the effect. Place little plastic goblins or other small plastic decorations to rim the bowl. We usually had a skeletal arm ladle to use to dip the punch.

2. Puking witch - There is a Halloween decoration that can be purchased that involves a creature, many times a witch, seemingly throwing up into a bowl. A nice touch is to use that bowl to serve your potent spirits. A nice recipe for this involves vodka, Midori, tropical fruit punch and lemonade to your taste. The Midori adds that nice green flavor you're looking for, and as the night goes on, your guests will be less and less leery about drinking out of the bowl.

3. Martinis are a bit scary, but to add some real Halloween spirit, add these bloody eyeballs. The night before the party, peel several radishes, leaving some red jagged streaks. Using the edge of the peeler or a knife, bore out a hole big enough to insert a pimiento stuffed green olive. Place the radishes into ice cube trays and fill with water. The night of the party, use the ice cubes to make the drinks (1 shot either gin or vodka with ¼ shot of dry vermouth, or to taste) and then pour the martini and eyeballs into glasses.

4. Zombie - Too many of these and your guests will begin to look like they are starring in a George Romero movie, if they can walk at all, but they can be hard to pass up.

1 measure light rum

½ measure dark rum

½ measure white rum

1 measure orange curacao

¼ measure Pernod

1 measure lemon juice

a. 1 measure orange juice

1 measure pineapple juice

½ measure papaya juice

¼ measure grenadine

½ measure almond syrup

¼ measure overproof rum

5. Purple People Eater - Equal parts vodka, blue curacao and cranberry juice, with a splash of triple sec. Shake and strain, usually into shot glasses but it can also be served into a Collins glass.

Sources:

Stuart Walton, "The Ultimate Book of Cocktails"

Cheri sicar, www.fabulousfood.com/usa/article/31/17625