Halloween Drink Recipes

I love the fall, especially here in Colorado.  The aspens slowly changing from green to brilliant reds, yellows, and oranges.  The air starts to turn cool, and throughout the day you’re likely to change from jacket, to coat, to rain jacket, to sweating.  It’s totally unpredictable, but it’s exciting to me.  And I think a lot of us up here in Rockies get at least a little excited this time of year, because we know that another ski season is just around the corner.  Of course, you can ask how they feel about all the snow when January rolls around, and it’ll be a much different story.

But let’s stick with October for now, and one of the first holidays that comes up before the end of the year – Halloween.  The flavors of pumpkin, the smell of spice, and just the right amount of tricks to send a chill up your spine.

After sitting with a bartender friend a couple of weeks ago as he went through his ghostly cocktail creations that he’d be serving the bar on Halloween night, I simply couldn’t resist writing the recipes down so I could share them on The Back Burner.  Besides, Halloween is the perfect time of year to bring in extra revenue because of some attractive spirits (the liquor, not the patrons my friend).

Alien Brain Hemorrhage

I know, the name sounds awful, but it’s actually a good drink; however, it’s very sweet, so one shot will probably do you.  The taste is very similar to a chocolate covered cherry, so keep that in mind before you dive in.  I’m not a maraschino cherry fan, so this wasn’t my favorite on the list.  For 1 serving, you’ll need the following:

• 1 oz Peach Schnapps
• 1 tsp Irish Cream
• 2-4 drops Grenadine

Pour the peach schnapps in a shot glass, and then slowly add in the Irish cream.  Top with the drops of grenadine.  I’ve also seen other recipes where they add a small amount of blue curacao to the shot glass before they drop in the grenadine, which adds a blue tint under where the Irish cream settles.

Jellyfish Shot

Another very interesting looking drink, and still just as sweet, is the jellyfish. For 1 serving, here’s what you’ll need:

• ½ shot White Crème de Cacao
• ½ shot Amaretto Almond Liquer
• Irish Cream
• 2-4 drops Grenadine

Fill the shot glass ½ and ½ with the crème de cacao and amaretto (leaving just enough room on top to add a hint of the remaining ingredients). Slowly pour in the Irish cream, just to the rim of the shot glass and then add your drops of grenadine.

By this time, I had already had 2 shots, and I never take shots, so I stopped as he continued to mix up and test different concoctions.  Here’s Bloody Brain Shooter, but I’ll give compliments to Geekologie on this one, since that’s where he pulled the recipe.

Brain Shot

I love me a good Irish car bomb, but I’m not sure if I could have made it through this one before my own stomach curdled.  Again, this is for 1 serving:

• 1 ¼ oz Strawberry Vodka
• 1/8 oz Rose’s Lime Juice
• ¾ oz Irish Cream
• 2-4 drops Grenadine

Since this drink curdles, it’s best to make sure the vodka is cold to help the shot go down easier (I know, right?).  Shake the vodka and lime juice in a shaker, then strain into a shot glass.  Now, the fun part, dip a straw in the Irish cream, and put your finger over the end of the straw to suck the Irish cream up into the straw.  Now dip the end of the straw into the vodka mix, and slowly release the Irish cream into the shot.  As it releases, you’ll see it start to curdle, and you can slowly form the brain.  Go ahead and get more Irish cream if you need it.  At the end, the grenadine is added to make it look like the brain is bleeding.

The night continued with a few other interesting shots, which included the squashed frog, hellraiser layered shot, a ghost shot, and a vampire blood shot.  All of which looked very intriguing, but I thought it would be fun to share the rest of the recipes on our Pinterest board, Halloween Shots, Drinks and Cocktails.  Let us know what you think, and what other ghostly recipes you have for this time of year.