Adding a Festive Drink or Two is Perfect Decoration for Any Venue 

Dress your cocktail menu up for Halloween this year. While everything doesn’t need to be a gimmick, adding a few creative concoctions to your normal repertoire will make your patrons smile — and hopefully order more than just one.

In this list, we have included a classic twist on the Stinger cocktail, a little dry ice for garnish with special effect power and even a faux eyeball or two. Enjoy!

The Haunted Cocktail

Courtesy of Mixologist Niccole Trzaska, Stone Rose, New York City

1 ½ ounce Martin Miller's gin
1 ounce red or white cranberry juice
Splash cinnamon schnapps
Stick of rock candy

Combine gin, cranberry juice and cinnamon schnapps in a shaker with ice. Shake well and pour into a Martini glass. Garnish with rock candy.

Off To See the Lizard

Courtesy of The Beachhouse bar and restaurant, Anna Maria Island, Fla.

3 ounces Margaritaville Tequila
1 ounce triple sec
3 ounces melon liqueur
3 ounces sweet and sour mix
Small chunk of dry ice

Add small chunk of dry ice in bottom of salt-rimmed Margarita glass. Combine remaining ingredients in shaker and shake well. Pour over dry ice.

Pumpkin Pie Parfait

Courtesy of Maria Hunt, author, writer and Champagne expert, www.thebubblygirl.com, San Diego, Calif.

¾ ounce Torani Pumpkin Spice Syrup
2 ounces bourbon
1 ounce Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur
1 ounce fresh orange juice
Juice from ¼ lemon
2 pinches fresh nutmeg
3 drops Angostura bitters
Whipped cream

Add pumpkin spice syrup, bourbon, ginger liqueur, orange and lemon juices, 1 pinch nutmeg and 3 drops of bitters in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until well chilled. Strain into a deep Champagne coupe or a Martini glass. Garnish with whipped cream and another pinch of nutmeg on top.

Spooky Stinger

Courtesy of Mixologist, H. Joseph Ehrmann, Elixir, San Francisco

1 ½ ounces Courvoisier Exclusif
¾ ounce Green Crème de Menthe
½ ounce La Fee Parisienne Absinthe
½ ounce heavy whipping cream
½ ounce simple syrup
1 mint leaf

In a cold mixing tin, add La Fee, cream and simple syrup. Whip to a semi-fluid consistency. Do not over-whip and make thick. You should still be able to pour it. Set aside in ice. In a mixing glass add the Courvoisier and Crème de Menthe, fill with ice and stir for 15 seconds. Julep-strain up into a cup or cocktail glass. Pour the whipped cream mixture over the back of a spoon and float over the cocktail. Garnish with a mint leaf.

Jack the Sipper

Courtesy of Kimberly Patton-Bragg, New York City

2 ounces Laird's Applejack
1 ounce English Mead
¾ ounce Velvet Falernum
3 dashes Regan's orange bitters

Rim cocktail glass with black sugar and fill with ice. In a shaker, shake all ingredients with ice and strain into cocktail glass.

Rosemary's Baby

Courtesy of Kimberly Patton-Bragg, New York City

2 ounces Laird's Applejack
¾ ounce Cynar
1 ¼ ounces Grand Marnier
Sprig of rosemary

Pull rosemary off of sprig into mixing glass, leaving some at the top for garnish. Add Grand Marnier and set on fire to release oils from rosemary. When glass is hot to the touch, it's done. Let cool down for a minute, add Applejack, Cynar and ice. Stir and strain (julep strainer works best) into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the rosemary sprig.

The Gingerly

Courtesy of Maria Hunt, author, writer and Champagne expert, www.thebubblygirl.com, San Diego, Calif.

2 ounces Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur
1 ounce gin
1 ounce lychee juice
Juice of ¼ lemon
2 ½ ounces chilled Zipang sparkling sake
½ teaspoon grenadine
1 fresh lychee, peeled and with small end cut off to reveal seed.

Place lychee into the bottom of a Champagne flute. Add the ginger liqueur, gin, lychee juice and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until well chilled. Strain into the Champagne flute. Top with Zipang and drizzle the grenadine over the back of a spoon, so it creates a reddish cloud around the lychee.

The Smashing Pumpkin

Courtesy of The Beachhouse bar and restaurant, Anna Maria Island, Fla.

2 ounces Goldschlager
2 ounces Bailey's Irish Crème
2 ounces Kahlua

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake. Strain into Martini glass and garnish with cinnamon sugar.