Halloween falls on a Thursday this year, meaning parties will be gearing up all over the place this weekend. We’ve had many, many recipe suggestions this year (and thank you for all of them). Here’s a sampling of some of the best we’ve tried over the past few weeks while getting into the spirit of things, multi-layered pun intended.

Bloody Ghost
(courtesy of Chris Ross of Jim Beam)
1 part Jim Beam Jacob’s Ghost whiskey
1 part tomato juice
Pinch salt
Pinch sugar
Dash of Tabasco sauce (to taste)
Dash of fresh lime juice (to taste)

Instructions: Combine Jacob’s Ghost with tomato juice, sugar, Tabasco hot sauce and lime. Shake over ice and pour into a salt-rimmed shot glass and garnish with a lime.

Candy Corn Cocktail
2 oz. Skyy Infusions Pineapple Vodka
1.5 oz. orange sherbet, softened
1 oz. pineapple juice
1 oz. milk
1 oz. simple syrup

Combine Skyy Infusions Pineapple and pineapple juice in cocktail shaker with ice. Strain over fresh ice into a clear Collins glass. Combine softened orange sherbet and ice in a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously. Strain, and pour over bar spoon to layer in the rocks glass. Then, combine simple syrup and milk in cocktail shaker and shake vigorously. Layer milk mixture on top of sorbet mixture.

Beetle Juice
1 part Courvoisier Rosé
1/2 part DeKuyper Crème de Cassis
orange juice

Build cocktail in an ice filled highball glass. Garnish with a lime squeeze.

Heebie Jeebies
(courtesy of Zachary Henry, Next Door Lounge, Los Angeles)
1.75 oz. The Black Grouse
.25 oz. Velvet Falernum
.75 oz. lemon juice
.5 oz. simple syrup
.25 oz. egg white
Yellow Chartreuse rinse

Dry shake first five ingredients together, then shake with ice and strain into a Yellow Chartreuse rinsed-coupette glass. Garnish with an Angostura Bitters “branded” star.

Kilbeggan Masquerade Mixer
2 parts Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey
1/2 part ginger liqueur
1 part apple juice
1 part lemon sour
Red & orange sugar mix

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a sugar rimmed cocktail glass.

Corpse Survivor No. 2
2/3 oz. Herradura Silver
2/3 oz. Lemon Juice
2/3 oz. Lillet Blanc
2/3 oz. Cointreau
Spray of absinthe

Spritz a little absinthe into a chilled coupe glass and set aside. Place all ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with cubed ice. Shake hard, strain into the chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon zest.

Ghostly Captain
3 oz. tea, brewed
1 oz. Captain Morgan Black Spiced rum
1 tbsp. agave
Splash of cranberry juice
Splash of orange juice

Brew two teaspoons of tea (or two tea bags) in 6-8 ounces of water for four minutes and flash-chill. Combine 3 oz. of brewed tea with rum, a and sweeten with agave or sweetener of choice. Add a splash of cranberry juice and a splash of orange juice. Serve over ice in a rocks glass. Optional Halloween garnish: black cherry, and puree raspberries to “bleed” down the side of glass.

The Gandalf Elixir
3 parts Bacardi Superior
1 part Pedro Ximenez sherry
½ part apricot brandy
1 heaping spoon of sugar
3 dashes Fee Bros. Black Walnut bitters
Orange zest (for garnish)

Directions: In mixing glass add sugar and bitters. Gently mix the bitters and sugar using the end of a bar spoon. Add all other ingredients except for orange, allow sugar to dissolve then add cubed ice to your mixing glass. Gently stir and strain over fresh cubed ice. Garnish with an orange slice.