Halloween Cocktails 2026: The Vampire's Kiss, a Blood Orange Negroni and Death in the Afternoon — and 8 Bottles from $14.99
Halloween lands on Saturday, October 31 this year, which makes it a proper party night, and the best Halloween drinks are the ones that look the part without tasting like candy. Three cocktails do that with almost no effort: the Vampire's Kiss, a blood-red Negroni and Death in the Afternoon. Each takes three ingredients or fewer, each reads as spooky in the glass, and between them eight bottles cover all three. Here are the recipes, the bottles and a few tips for serving a crowd.
If you would rather go darker and whiskey-driven, our Black Manhattan guide and the Halloween Drop allocated bourbon release are the other Halloween-week reads.
The 8 bottles behind three Halloween cocktails
1. The Vampire's Kiss
This is the party drink: vodka, raspberry liqueur and sparkling wine in a flute. Pour 1.5 oz Ketel One Vodka ($24.99) and 0.5 oz Schladerer Himbeer, a Black Forest raspberry liqueur, ($34.99) over ice, shake briefly, strain into a chilled flute and top with about 3 oz of La Gioiosa Prosecco Treviso ($14.99). The raspberry liqueur turns the glass deep red and the prosecco adds a pale foam on top. A fresh raspberry or two is all the garnish it needs. For more on vodka cocktails, see our National Vodka Day guide, or browse the full vodka collection.
Each drink uses only half an ounce of the liqueur, so one bottle covers a full party and leaves some for a raspberry Kir later.
2. The Blood Orange Negroni
A classic Negroni is already the right color. Use equal parts: 1 oz Beefeater Gin ($29.99), 1 oz Campari ($39.99) and 1 oz Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth ($42.99). Stir over ice for about thirty seconds, strain over a large cube and express a blood orange peel over the top. If blood oranges are not in the market yet, a regular orange peel works. Carpano Antica is the rich, vanilla-forward vermouth that gives this version a darker, rounder body than a standard sweet vermouth.
For a lighter, less bitter pour for guests who find Campari too intense, swap in Aperol ($33.99) for half the Campari. Our full Negroni guide walks through the ratios, and the amaro cocktail guide has more bitter drinks worth stocking. You can also shop everything bitter in the Campari collection and the cordials and liqueurs collection.
3. Death in the Afternoon
Ernest Hemingway published this drink in 1935: absinthe topped with sparkling wine until it turns cloudy. That milky, ghostly look is the point. Pour 1 oz St. George Absinthe Verte ($54.99) into a flute and slowly top with 4 to 5 oz of chilled dry sparkling wine such as La Gioiosa Prosecco. The drink turns opalescent as the absinthe clouds. It is anise-forward, so serve it to guests who like black licorice, and keep the Vampire's Kiss for everyone else. The same bottle of sparkling wine works for both drinks, which keeps the shopping list short. Our French sparkling cocktail guide has other drinks to make with the same bottle.
Why these three drinks work for a crowd
Each of these cocktails shares a bottle with another, which keeps both the cost and the cleanup down. Prosecco goes into the Vampire's Kiss and Death in the Afternoon. Campari appears in the Negroni and gives the whole bar its red palette. Vodka is the quiet, neutral base that lets the raspberry liqueur show, so a clean bottle is better than a flavored one. None of the three needs fresh juice, a shaker full of ice for every round or a syrup you have to make ahead, so the host can stay at the party instead of behind the bar.
Make them look the part
Presentation does most of the work on Halloween. Serve the Vampire's Kiss and Death in the Afternoon in tall flutes so the color and the clouding show, and put the Negroni over one large ice cube in a rocks glass, which dilutes slowly and keeps the red clear. Chill glasses in the freezer for twenty minutes before guests arrive. Garnishes can stay simple: a raspberry or two for the Kiss, a long orange peel for the Negroni, and a single star anise pod floated on the absinthe drink. Dim the lights, add a candle or two, and let the colors carry the theme rather than plastic props.
How many bottles for your guest count
For a party of ten, plan on one bottle each of prosecco, Ketel One, Beefeater, Campari and Carpano Antica, one raspberry liqueur and one bottle of absinthe. That covers roughly thirty cocktails across the three recipes with spirits left over. If you expect a Negroni crowd, add a second bottle of Campari and vermouth. If most guests prefer bubbles, add a second prosecco, since both the Vampire's Kiss and Death in the Afternoon use it. Absinthe is high-proof and a little goes a long way, so one bottle will last well past the party.
Hosting tips for Halloween night
Pre-batch the Negroni: mix equal parts gin, Campari and vermouth in a bottle, add about 20 percent water for dilution and keep it in the refrigerator. Pour over ice when guests arrive. The Vampire's Kiss is best made to order, but you can pre-measure the vodka and raspberry liqueur into a pitcher and shake it in small batches. Keep the prosecco and absinthe drink for last, since the bubbles go flat if poured early. Plan on about three drinks per guest across the night.
If you are also pouring wine, try our sparkling wine collection for more bubbles or the gin collection for the Negroni base.
Shop the Halloween bar
All eight bottles are in stock at the prices shown at publication. Browse the full liqueur shelf, see what customers are buying in best sellers, and order before October 31 so everything arrives with time to chill.
