Scary good cocktails make celebrating Halloween sweeter

Mary Pickels
Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019 12:01 a.m. | Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019 12:01 a.m.

Courtesy of Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel

Mixologists at the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel’s Braddock’s Street Side created this Bayou Brew.

Courtesy of Fine wines and Good Spirits

Fine Wines and Good Spirits has brewed up a Bat-Tito cocktail for Halloween.

Courtesy of Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel

Dark Magic is a concoction dreamed up by the mixologists at Braddocks Street Side inside the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel for Halloween.

Courtesy of Fine wines and Good Spirits

Want to try a Jekyll & Gin? Fine Wines and Good Spirits has a recipe for this scary good cocktail.

Courtesy of Fine wines and Good Spirits

Cider on Fire is a warm, sweet drink perfect for a cool autumn evening.

With wineries holding trick-or-treat events for adults, and restaurants and bars hosting Halloween for the 21-and up crowd, who says the holiday is strictly for kids?

And speaking of wineries and bars, what’s a holiday without a few special, signature cocktails?

The mixologists at the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel, where revelers recently enjoyed a Black Magic Manor Halloween dance party, are brewing up a few Halloween potions at the hotel’s Braddock’s Street Side.

The Dark Magic Potion Cocktails are available through Nov. 2. But with just a few ingredients, you can mix them up yourself. Your Halloween guests likely will enjoy the eye and taste appeal of these libation creations.

Dark Magic

purple sugar

1 ½ part vodka

1 part Blue Curacao

1 part sweet and sour mix

1 part grenadine

1 part cranberry juice

lime

Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake, then pour with a strainer into a martini or a coupe glass.

Bayou Brew

1 ounce vodka

1 ounce Midori

½ ounce lemon

½ ounce simple syrup

Put ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake, then pour with a strainer into a martini or a coupe glass.

Make it spooky

If you like your cocktails more civilized looking than creepy — but with seasonal names that make them fun to offer your guests — Fine Wines & Good Spirits to the rescue. Try its October Cocktail of the Month, prepared in a batch recipe to keep your crowd quenched.

Bat-Tito Bite

1 cup Tito’s Handmade Vodka

2 cups blood orange soda

¾ cup pomegranate juice

½ cup sparkling mineral water

¼ cup simple syrup

4 tablespoons fresh lime juice

5 lime wheels

Chill all ingredients, then combine in a large bowl. Serve in rocks glasses filled with ice.

Jekyll & Gin

3 ounces Bluecoat Barrel Finished Gin

½ ounce fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon Rose’s Grenadine

tonic water

Combine first three ingredients in a highball glass filled with ice. Top with tonic water.

Halloween may be winding down, but autumn is still in the area, with plenty of sweet, crisp apples to enjoy.

And maybe a sip of sweet, warm cider by the fire on a cool autumn night? This next beverage blends the flavors of apple orchard with a hint of spicy heat.

Cider on Fire

1 ounce Fireball Cinnamon Whisky

½ ounce Tuaca Liqueur

Hot apple cider

Combine first two ingredients in mug, top with hot apple cider.