7 Halloween cocktails to try this weekend

Get your ghoul on and celebrate the biggest night of horrors with sophisticated yet spooky Halloween cocktails.

The PATRÓN Paloma Roja

Ingredients:

60ml Patrón Silver

75ml grapefruit juice

15ml fresh lemon juice

15ml St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur

15ml hibiscus syrup (see below)

Salt & dried hibiscus rim

Orange zest for garnish

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice.
2. Shake to chill and combine.
3. Strain into a salt & dried hibiscus-rimmed Collins glass filled with fresh ice.

For the hibiscus syrup:

1. In a heatproof bowl, combine 8 oz hot simple syrup with 2 hibiscus tea bags and let steep for 5 minutes. Discard the tea bags and let the syrup cool.
2. Transfer the syrup to a jar, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Spooky, bloody Bramble

Of all the Halloween cocktails, we think this is the most sophisticated.

Ingredients:

50ml No.3 gin

25ml lemon juice

15ml sugar syrup

20ml Crème de Mure

Method:

1. Pour all the ingredients except Crème de Mure into the glass and give a little stir. Add crushed ice and top up with Crème de Mure. Garnish.

Blood Orange Diablo

Ingredients:

45ml Crystal Head Onyx

22.5ml Créme de Mure

15ml blood orange juice

60ml ginger beer

Method:

1. Add all ingredients to a Collins glass with crushed ice and stir. Garnish with a dehydrated blood orange wheel.

Marmalade Halloween Punch

Ingredients:

25ml Slingsby Marmalade Gin

25ml blood orange juice

10ml lemon juice

1 jar of marmalade preserve

Top with prosecco

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large punch bowl and serve with plenty of ice. Garnish with orange slices and drizzle grenadine over the top.

Purple Rain

(The below measurements are per person)

Ingredients:

45ml Slingsby Blackberry Gin

15ml Blue Curacao

20ml cranberry Juice

10ml lime Juice

Soda/lemonade top (depending on sweetness preference)

Method:

1. To make individually: Shake the first 4 ingredients with ice and strain into a highball glass over ice. Then top with lemonade or soda depending on your taste preference. Garnish with a lemon wedge.
2. To make a punch: Multiple the ingredients by the number of people and build in a punch bowl or jug with ice. Mix thoroughly before serving. Garnish with lemon wheels and a drizzle of grenadine for added Halloween theatre.

Pumpkin Patch

Ingredients:

5ml Crystal Head Vodka

5ml honey

22.5ml coffee liqueur

5ml Pumpkin Pie Spice*

22.5ml heavy cream (optional: substitute with any non-dairy alternative)

2-3 ginger snap cookies

Method:

1. Crumble the ginger snap cookies and place the crumbs on a plate. Rub the rim of a rocks glass with honey. Dip your glass in cookie crumbs to coat the rim. In a shaker, combine Crystal Head Vodka, coffee liqueur, and pumpkin pie spice. Shake with ice.
2. Place ice in a rocks glass and pour contents of shaker over ice and top with heavy cream, or anon-dairy alternative of your choice.
3. For the Pumpkin Pie Spice: combine equal parts ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground all spice and ground cloves.