Halloween

Three rums, citrus, and falernum — Donn Beach's 1934 Hollywood creation, its recipe encoded for decades until Beachbum Berry decoded it for his Sippin' Safari.

Gin, Lillet Blanc, Cointreau, fresh lemon, and an absinthe rinse — Craddock's 1930 Savoy warning: four in swift succession will unrevive the corpse.

Gin, dry and sweet vermouth, orange juice, Grand Marnier, and bitters — Craddock's 1930 Savoy classic, five flavor layers producing unusual pre-war complexity.

Equal-parts Scotch, Cherry Heering, sweet vermouth, and orange juice — a 1922 Valentino film-named classic documented in The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930).

Vodka and Kahlúa — Gustave Tops' 1949 Hotel Metropole Brussels creation for Ambassador Perle Mesta, Kahlúa's 1936 Veracruz coffee meeting Russian-associated vodka.

A festive Halloween cocktail inspired by Snow White, combining cinnamon whiskey with apple cider and cranberry for a sweet and spiced autumn drink.

Blackberries, fresh rosemary, lemon and honey muddled with tequila or mezcal and orange bitters, then topped with sparkling water. Inky, herbal and bright.

A tequila sour of blanco tequila, lime and simple syrup with a float of dry red wine poured over a spoon so it hovers on top in a dark red layer.

A frozen margarita made silky with cream of coconut and served in a glass rimmed with toasted-coconut lime salt. Three ingredients and a blender.

Cachaça, pumpkin purée, coconut cream and allspice dram blended into a frosty tiki-style pumpkin drink, crowned with a flaming lime shell. Created by Ryan Liloia at Brooklyn's Leyenda.

Coconut rum, vanilla vodka and coconut cream shaken ghost-white and lifted with lemon-lime soda. A sweet, creamy Halloween highball.

Tequila, Clamato or tomato juice, orange, lime, and hot sauce — Mexico's Bloody Mary equivalent, Clamato (Mott's, 1966) adding umami to the blood-red savory base.

Fruity red wine and brandy steeped with oranges, lemon, lime and cinnamon, topped with ginger ale and poured over frozen black and green grapes.

Peach schnapps with Baileys poured on top — the acid curdling Baileys (launched 1974 as the world's first stable Irish cream) into brain-like formations.

Galliano, orange curacao, and cream layered to mimic candy corn's yellow-orange-white bands - a sweet, lightly herbal Halloween novelty shot.

Ginger ale or lemon-lime soda with maraschino cherries and a syringe of grenadine that guests squeeze in themselves for a gory red swirl.

Butterfly pea flower tea and lemon — the deep blue shifting to vivid pink when citrus is added, Thai and Malaysian cuisine using the flower for centuries.

Apple cider warmed with cinnamon and cloves — the 1620s Massachusetts orchard tradition, hard cider the dominant American beverage before grain whiskey arrived.

Carbonated apple juice — Martinelli's of Watsonville (since 1868) the leading American example, its Champagne bottle allowing non-drinkers to participate in toasts.

Dark berry juice and sparkling water — the 2010s trend of butterfly pea flower and activated charcoal creating near-black cocktails that drove social media ordering.

Lime sherbet melts into ginger ale and pineapple juice for a foamy, bubbling green punch. Google named it the top trending Halloween drink of 2026.

A no-bake seven-layer dip of seasoned beans, sour cream, salsa and guacamole, ringed with cheese and toppings and piped with a sour cream spiderweb.

A baked layered taco dip of refried beans, creamy taco-spiced filling, salsa and cheddar, with crisp tortilla tombstones standing in the top.

Creamy hummus swirled with pumpkin purée and warm autumn spices

A cream cheese and sharp cheddar ball with pumpkin, pineapple and dried beef, tied into pumpkin ridges and topped with a pepper stem.

Creamy, tangy filling piped into perfectly cooked egg whites - the quintessential cocktail party bite

Peeled mandarins with a little celery stem and a parsley leaf, so each one looks like a tiny pumpkin. A fresh, healthy Halloween snack.

Crisp apple with creamy brie, walnut, and honey — three foods whose histories trace to Persia, the Tian Shan mountains of Kazakhstan, and the royal courts of medieval France, assembled into one elegant bite.

Hot dogs wrapped in strips of crescent dough, baked golden and finished with candy eyes. The easiest crowd-pleasing Halloween party bite.

Savory mushroom caps filled with herbed walnut stuffing—rich, earthy, and completely plant-based

Juicy chicken bites glazed with sweet-tangy apple cider reduction—the taste of autumn on a stick

Velvety roasted squash soup served in shot glasses - a warm sip of autumn

A whole wheel of brie baked until molten and creamy, crowned with spiced cranberry compote and toasted pecans — French cheese royalty meets distinctly American entertaining. The most dramatic appetizer on any holiday spread.

Crispy oven-roasted pepitas coated in maple syrup and warm autumn spices — two of North America's most ancient indigenous foods combined into an irresistible seasonal snack.

Crisp rice cereal squares, pretzels and salted cashews coated in white chocolate and tossed with Halloween-colored chocolate candies. Sweet, salty and addictive.

Almond-scented green shortbread shaped into knobby fingers with an almond-slice fingernail and a red gel smear. Creepy, buttery and fun to make.

Fresh strawberries dipped in white chocolate, dragged into little ghost tails and given chocolate faces. A three-ingredient Halloween sweet.