Photo by Alexander Suffolk
Photo by Alexander Suffolk

Ah yes, Halloween. A time of terror; nights of never-ending ghouls and ghosts running amok!

 

Nah, it’s mostly just an excuse to eat some candy, dress up in crazy outfits, and get plastered — basically, my standard Friday nights. But this year, if you are throwing a party, rather than just hand out shots of the cheapest handle you can grab, why don’t you spice things up with some horror and gore-themed drinks? Theming your drinks along with the party will make the night way more fun and memorable, as well as mask your alcoholism with a sense of class. And we all aim to be classy, right? Actually, don’t answer that. You don’t need to. Because you’re classy. So without further ado, here are some creepy cocktails you can enjoy this Halloween.

 

BRAIN HEMORRHAGE SHOTS

1/2 ounce peach schnapps

1/2 ounce Irish cream

1 teaspoon grenadine

 

This little gem is absolutely perfect for Halloween: It tastes as sweet as candy and looks bloody enough to excite a vampire. Take the peach schnapps and fill about half your shot glass with it (for the record, most shot glasses are around 1 ounce). Then take the Irish cream and slowly fill the glass until it is almost full. Thanks to some kind of science, the cream will curdle in the schnapps, giving it a more solid, brain-like texture. Then just drizzle the grenadine over the cream, let it sit for a second, and lo and behold, you got a Brain Hemorrhage. Easy, right? Now if you’re really feeling fancy, you can use a funnel or straw to get a perfect brain shape, or add a bit of blue curacao to turn it into an Alien Brain Hemorrhage. Just be warned: The cream will curdle more the longer it sits, so if you spend too long sipping your concoction or trying to get a perfect photo of it for Instagram, the texture will get sort of thick and phlegmy. Still tasty, but certainly gross-feeling. Then again, doesn’t bloody and gross just add to the Halloween experience?

ZOMBIES

1 ounce light rum

1 ounce gold rum

1 ounce dark rum

1/2 ounce apricot brandy

1 ounce creme de banane

1 ounce pineapple juice

1 ounce lemon juice

1 ounce lime juice

1/4 ounce grenadine

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 ounce 151-proof rum

 

I like to think that this drink is what that Cranberries song is really about, because it doesn’t take much of this drink to get in your head. Mix all of the ingredients except for the 151-proof rum (ideally you have a shaker and strainer, but a blender or just a spoon would probably suffice), then pour it — preferably in a wine glass with ice — and float the 151-proof rum on top. You should also know that there is some debate on the exact ingredients, so feel free to swap out a few things here and there (even I haven’t ever been able to find a bottle of creme de banane). Just make sure you have the essentials: pineapple juice, lime (or lemon) juice and an absurd amount of rum. No matter how you make it, it’s bound to taste great, as the pineapple and lemon-lime so deceitfully cover up all that rum. Before you know it, you’ll be infected by this drink and end up mindlessly stumbling around like an extra on “The Walking Dead.”


So there you have it, everyone, some drinks to try out while you’re surrounded by the endless numbers of foxes, Walter Whites and Miley Cyruses that are bound to crowd every party this year. Just remember: Have fun, stay safe and too much sugar will make your hangover much much worse. Have a happy Halloween, UCR!