Halloween is not exactly a time for cutting back. From sweet treats to indulgent costumes, the spookiest season of the year is the perfect time to go over the top. And that goes just as much for those who don't drink alcohol as it does to those mixing up elaborate Halloween co*cktails. Be they kid-friendly options for trick or treaters or a booze-free libation for your big party, there are plenty of non-alcoholic options for festive drinks. Here, we've rounded up some of the best seasonal mocktails to serve this Halloween.
Cider Sangria
Ingredients
3 oz apple cider
5 oz fresh lime juice
.75 oz pear syrup
2 dashes orange bitters, such as Regan’s
1 Tbsp diced apples and pears
Splash of tonic
Instructions
Combine all ingredients, shake, and pour into a snifter glass. Add additional ice if needed.
From Oyster Bah in Chicago
Ocean Blue Goblet
Ingredients
3 oz Torani Blue Raspberry Syrup
9.5 oz sour mix
9.5 oz lemon-lime soda
Instructions
Combine ingredients in goblet (or glass). Garnish with two blue gummy/marshmallow sharks inside glass/goblet and one on top.
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Big Apple Cider
Ingredients
10 oz apple cider
1 tsp pumpkin butter
Instructions
Heat apple cider and stir in pumpkin butter. Garnish with star anise and cinnamon.
By Liana Oster of Dante in NYC.
Blood Orange Soda
Ingredients
5 parts Q Club Soda
1 part blood orange syrup*
Lime
Instructions
Rub the inside of the glass with whatever herb you have on hand such as mint. Combine ingredient and stir. Finish with a hearty squeeze of fresh lime.
*Blood Orange Syrup
Mix equal parts squeezed/strained blood orange juice with sugar in a blender. Blend on high just until combined.
Nice Pear
Ingredients
2 oz pear juice
1 oz lemon juice
.75 oz Rosemary-infused simple syrup*
*Rosemary-infused simple syrup
.5 cup sugar
3 sprigs rosemary
Instructions
In a saucepan, heat 1 cup of water with sugar and rosemary until sugar has dissolved; allow to steep until mixture is cool and strain. Combine ingredients in co*cktail shaker and shake with ice. Strain into rocks glass (or serve up) and top with soda water. Garnish with a slice of pear.
From The Third Man, NYC
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Apple Barley Old Fashioned
Ingredients
1 oz strong-brewed chilled barley tea*
1 dash Angostura bitters
5 dashes molasses bitters
.25 oz. simple syrup
.5 oz apple cider
Splash of club soda – optional
*Barley Tea
2 barley tea bags
10 oz water
Instructions
Brew barley tea and allow to cool. Stir all ingredients and garnish with orange peel and cherries.
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Witch's Brew
Ingredients
1.5 cups Bolthouse Farms Blue Goodness juice drink
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
.5 cup seltzer
.25 cup blackberries
Instructions
Muddle blackberries. Combine all other ingredients with blackberries and stir to combine.
Witch's Cauldron
Ingredients
2 oz Tea tincture*
1 oz Zero-Proof Whiskey
DRY Botanical Bubbly Reserve Spiced Pear
Burnt cinnamon stick for garnish
Add ice, tea tincture, and zero-proof whiskey to a mixing glass, and stir until thoroughly chilled. Strain into a coupe glass, and top with Spiced Pear Reserve. For the garnish, carefully light one end of a
cinnamon stick with a kitchen torch, then blow out the flame. Set the smoking cinnamon stick across the top of your glass.
*Tea tincture: To make the tincture, bring 8o. water to a simmer in a small saucepan, then add half a cinnamon stick and 2 bags rooibos tea. Stir to combine, then remove from the heat. Let the tea steep for 10 minutes, then strain through a fine mesh sieve. Let cool, then refrigerate in a sealed container.
By Chris Marshall of Sans Bar.
Passionfruit Potion Tea
Ingredients
2.5 oz Pure Leaf Teahouse Passionfruit Pineapple Herbal Tea
1.5 oz Naked Coconut Water
.75 oz lime juice
Instructions
Mix all ingredients together and serve over ice.
By Pamela Wiznitzer.
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Damascus
Ingredients
2 oz Seedlip Spice 94
1.25 oz coffee verjus*
.3 oz cherry cordial or syrup from jarred cherries
5 drops red wine vinegar
Instructions
Stir all ingredients with ice and strain into a co*cktail glass.
*Instructions for coffee verjus: Crack 50g of light roast coffee beans and add to 500 mL of verjus. Allow to infuse at room temperature for 2 hours, then strain and bottle. Keep chilled.
No Turkey
Ingredients
1.5 oz apple cider
.75 oz cranberry juice
.75 oz herb syrup*
.5 oz lime juice
Instructions
Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a cordial glass.
*Herb Syrup
1/8 cup fennel seed
1/8 cup celery seed
1 heaping bunch of sage
1 quart sugar
1 quart sugar
2 quarts water
Place all ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil. Cool, strain, and pour into a bottle.
From Scott Stroemer, bar manager at Nico Osteria and Salone Nico in Chicago
Magic Butterfly Pea Lemonade
What better time for a magic trick than Halloween? Blue butterfly pea flower tea magically turns pink with the acidity of lemonade as you stir.
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Snapdragon
Ingredients
1.5 oz apple cider
1 oz apple or ginger flavored kombucha
.25 oz fresh pressed ginger juice
Instructions
Add ingredients in a whiskey or rocks glass with a large ice cube. Stir lightly. Garnish with a slice of apple with a dusting of nutmeg.
From Loring Place in New York City
Apple Ginger Tea Punch
Ingredients
5 fresh mint leaves
.75 oz lemon juice
.5 oz lemongrass syrup [2:1 water to sugar]
1 oz apple Bubly
2.5 oz Pure Leaf Organic Green Tea, Fuji Apple & Ginger
Instructions
Mix all ingredients in a glass or teacup and serve with ice.
By Pamela Wiznitzer
Rehydrator
Ingredients
2 oz aloe juice
1.25 oz cranberry juice
.5 oz lime juice
.75 oz honey syrup
.25 oz cherry syrup (or grenadine if unavailable)
Instructions
Shake and strain all of the ingredients into a chilled co*cktail glass. Garnish with a lime wheel and serve.
From Bryan Dayton, co-owner and beverage director at Acorn in Denver, Colorado
Lauren Hubbard
Writer
Lauren Hubbard is a freelance writer and Town & Country contributor who covers beauty, shopping, entertainment, travel, home decor, wine, and co*cktails.
