4 Halloween Tequila Cocktails for a Boo-zy Night on the Town

As Halloween fast approaches, bartenders across the country prepare for a bloodbath of red, orange and green cocktails topped off with all manner of spiderwebs and googly eyes.

For those looking to mix up a drink at home, we’ve put together a list of four seasonal tequila cocktails that perfectly blend sugar, spice and everything ice.

Draco Agave

Delicious as grapefruit cocktails like the Paloma may be, their color scheme screams Barbie — not Halloween. So why not add a splash of Creme de Cassis to honor the occasion?

Mixing tangy blackcurrants, spicy jalapeño and a touch of fresh mint, the Draco Agave reinvents the Paloma with a plethora of unexpected flavors. Though it requires a fair few ingredients, mixing one up shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz Blanco Tequila
• 3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice
• 3/4 oz Simple Syrup
• 1 oz Grapefruit Soda (Ting, Jarritos, etc.)
• 1/3 oz Creme de Cassis
• 3 thin slices Jalapeño
• 3 Blackberries
• Mint, for garnish

Directions

1. Muddle blackberries at the bottom of a highball glass and top with ice.
2. Muddle de-seeded jalapeño slices at the bottom of shaker, then add all ingredients except for grapefruit soda and mint. Add ice, shaking for 15-20 seconds.
3. Double strain over highball glass. Fill the rest of the way with grapefruit soda and garnish with mint.

Blood Bath & Beyond

Invented at the Lower East Side’s Black Crescent Bar, the Blood Bath & Beyond combines plum, lemon and artichoke-tinted Cynar liqueur with a heavy dose of oaky bourbon and a splash of mezcal.

Specifically, the spookily named recipe demands a mezcal rinse. For the uninitiated, a rinse can be accomplished by adding a dime-sized amount of liquor to the bottom of your glass, swirling it around the interior with the aid of an ice cube then dumping the excess. It makes for a lovely finish (and an easy way to impress guests with your mixology skills).

Ingredients

• 2 oz Bourbon
• 1 oz Plum Syrup
• 1/2 oz Fresh Squeezed Lemon
• 1/2 Cynar
• Mezcal Rinse on the glass
• Dried Blood Orange, for garnish

Directions

1. Add bourbon, plum syrup, lemon and Cynar to a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, usually 15-30 seconds.
2. Add a dime-sized serving of mezcal to the bottom of your glass. Add a single piece of ice and use it to swirl the mezcal around the interior and make a coating of sorts. Dump the ice and excess mezcal when done.
3. Pour the contents of your shaker into the coated glass. Serve with ice and a dried blood orange garnish (plastic spider as pictured above is entirely optional).

Heidi’s Black Magic-Rita 

Heidi Klum’s outlandish Halloween costumes — cherished creations like the Franken-Alien, skinless torso and, most recently, the giant worm —  have gobbled up headlines and Instagram posts year after year.

Capitalizing on the ominous magic, Klum teamed up with Patron to create a blackberry-laden twist on the margarita. This one requires a little preparation for its various syrups and garnishes, so buckle up for the long haul:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz Patron El Alto, or Extra Añejo Tequila of choice
• 1 oz Blackberry syrup
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 1 cup Water
  • 5 large Blackberries
• 1 oz Fresh Lime Juice
• 1 drop Scrappy’s Fire Water Tincture
• Black Lava Salt, for garnish
• Sugar Spider Web, for garnish
  • 1 1/4 cups Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Light Corn Syrup
  • 1/4 cup Water with Muddled Blackberries

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, mix and simmer blackberry syrup ingredients allowing the sugar to melt. Once the blackberries are soft, muddle them with the back of a spoon. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and let cool.
2. Mix spider web ingredients in a separate small saucepan. Start on low heat and periodically whisk to increase temperature. Using a candy thermometer, bring the mixture to 300 degrees. Place the saucepan in an ice bath and bring it down to 275 degrees. Using a fork, spin your cobweb design by drizzling the mixture over parchment in your desired shape.
3. In a shaker combine tequila, blackberry syrup, lime juice, and ice and shake. Strain and pour over ice into a rocks glass with a black salt rim.

Bloody Maria

Variations of the Bloody Mary — which have come to include the Bloody Ceasar, Red Snapper, Michelada and “Bloodless” Mary among countless others — require little introduction.

If you’re a fan, you’re a fan; swapping around the main liquor, spices and toppings won’t do much to persuade die-hard skeptics. Without further ado, the appropriately named Bloody Maria trades vodka for tequila while adding a healthy splash of lime.

Ingredients

• 2 oz Tequila Blanco
• 4 oz Tomato Juice
• 1/2 oz Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
• 1 tsp Horseradish
• 3 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
• 3 dashes Tobasco Hot Sauce
• 3 dashes Celery Salt
• 3 dashes Ground Black Pepper
• Tajin, for the rim
• Garnish with:
  • Lime Wedge
  • Celery Stalk
  • Jalapeño Slices

Directions

1. Add tequila, tomato juice, lime juice, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, celery salt, and black pepper to a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, around 30 seconds.
2. Rub a lime wedge around the rim of a large glass, then rim with Tajin.
3. Strain the cocktail into the glass and fill with ice.
4. Garnish with additional lime wedge, celery stalk, and jalapeño slices.
5. Enjoy!

Read More: 

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