How to Make Any Cocktail Creepy

Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday, hands down. It's difficult for me NOT to start watching Hocus Pocus in August and don't even get me started on 13 Nights of Halloween... it might as well have a yearly block in my calendar.

Although it's been a couple of years since I've thrown an insanely decked out Halloween party (or any Halloween party for that matter... thanks, kids), it is still my favorite reason to throw a party. So, in case you're planning your own frightening fete, Here are three ways to creep-ify your cocktail game, no matter what drinks you plan to serve. No green food coloring or strange black liqueurs necessary.

1. Palo Santo ghostly smoked cocktail glass

The presentation of a ritualistic-looking cloud of smoke surrounding your glass inside a cloche like this would it make it worth the effort, even if your beverage didn't benefit from the flavor. BUT that's the thing -- it does! I took a hint from Dram Cocktail Company, which sells Palo Santo cocktail bitters and combined it with the smoking technique used in this recipe for a hickory smoked hot buttered rum to create a Palo Santo smoked cocktail glass, which imparts a perfectly smoky, herbal aromatic element to any cocktail with bourbon, whiskey, vodka, tequila, mezcal, or even apple cider.

2. Lava Monster Salted Rim

I'm calling this lava monster salt because the salt actually does come from a volcano! Rim the glass of your margarita or bloody Mary with black salt instead of traditional rimming salt, and you've got an easy Halloween upgrade that looks amazing. Check out how the black salt plays up the creep-factor of the red bloody Mary in these photos! Also, the salt has a more mineral-y flavor, and is infused with activated charcoal, which could potentially help stave off that post-Halloween hang over.

3. Eyes-cubes

You've probably seen or heard of people using frozen grapes as "ice cubes" in their glass of wine. This is the same idea, but spookier. Peel a handful of green grapes (it's easier than it sounds... just use a sharp knife to get the peel started at the top, where the grape would attach to the stem). Then, cut the grapes in half and insert one pomegranate aril per half to create an eye ball! Freeze, then add to any cocktail in place of (or along with) ice. I've found that darkly colored drinks work best with this garnish, making the grapes appear white, like real eyeballs.