6 Halloween Cocktails, From Dark Sangria to Pumpkin Pie

Black fruit in a ruby pitcher, a lilac-and-blue glass, or three bright frozen stripes: Halloween cocktails can set the table’s mood. Start with the look you want, then choose a drink you can serve comfortably while the party is happening.

All six recipes contain alcohol and are for adult hosting. The pitcher can chill ahead; the striped coladas need a blender, while pumpkin cream and coffee suit the end of the evening.

Sheela Prakash combines red wine, brandy and blackcurrant liqueur with blackberries, dark grapes and black plums. The fruit does the Halloween work in the glass, with a deep ruby drink around it.

Give the wine and fruit at least four hours in the fridge, or leave that part overnight. Club soda joins at serving time. With six to eight servings from one batch, this is the choice I’d put out when guests need to help themselves.

Laura Rege uses Empress 1908 Indigo Gin and sparkling lemonade for the lilac base, then a slow pour of Blue Curaçao for blue. The specified gin and blue liqueur belong on the shopping list if those colors are what drew you in.

The recipe makes one iced glass. Keep this as a made-to-order choice, with the tall glasses ready where you’ll mix. A rosemary sprig adds a small green finish without hiding the color you chose it for.

Ann’s Vampire’s Kiss combines raspberry vodka, raspberry liqueur, cranberry juice and Champagne. Her recipe also allows Prosecco. The red stays visible through the stemmed glass, so I’d let the rim carry the decoration.

The recipe makes one serving and uses grenadine to fix the sugar to the rim, then leaves a red trail. Finish the rim at your mixing spot so that detail is ready when the glass reaches the table.

Cody and Camille Goldstein stack three separately blended layers: pineapple and rum, orange juice and Aperol, then cream of coconut and rum. The candy-corn resemblance comes from those colors; the drink’s flavor comes from its fruit, coconut and spirits.

Their recipe makes two servings, with three separate blending stages to account for. This is a drink to make for a pair of guests while you have time at the blender. Candy corn is an optional finishing garnish.

The Pioneer Woman’s recipe uses pumpkin puree alongside vanilla vodka, aged rum, half-and-half, maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice. That’s the reason to choose it: pumpkin is in the drink itself, with cream rounding out the glass.

The recipe serves two. Its whipped-cream dollops need about 30 minutes in the freezer, so give the garnish its own slot before dinner. Once that’s in the plan, these creamy glasses make a fitting finish to the meal.

Annika’s Grave Digger combines brandy, coffee liqueur and espresso beneath a separate cream layer. Crushed chocolate biscuit crumbs finish the top. The dark drink and pale cream make the Halloween contrast; the coffee gives it a different character from the pumpkin martini.

Annika pours the cream over a spoon to form a separate layer. Give that pour a steady moment at the mixing spot. Her recipe serves two; I’d keep the chocolate crumbs light enough that the pale cream still shows around them.