This 'Witches Brew'- halloween cocktail is so stunning. Based on a Purple Hooter, the vivid colour is dramatically beautiful, but with a dark eerie feel perfect for an easy halloween party cocktail.
It is a simple vodka based cocktail, that is delicious and just a little spooky but still with a sense of fun.
Keep it short as a shot or alcohol shooter or add soda for a long drink.
Served in sugar rimmed shot glasses this witches brew is a wonderful addition to a party at any time of year. But the dark purple colour makes it extra perfect (is that even a phrase???) to serve up as a halloween cocktail.
It would also be great for a hens party.
Ingredient Notes
These notes are here to help make this recipe a success; they cover some but not all ingredients. For a complete ingredient list, check out the recipe card below.
- Vodka: Use whatever your favourite brand is. The pictures were taken with regular vodka but see below for ideas on flavoured vodka.
- Raspberry liqueur: I recommend Di Amore Raspberry liqueur. I used to buy Chambord, but recently the color has been more red than purple!
Recipe Adaptions
These are all just suggestions and things that have worked in our test kitchen, but it is your cocktail, so adapt it to suit your friends and family.
- Swap the regular vodka for a flavoured vodka. We have tried (and loved) whipped cream, raspberry, and mixed berry (Absolut mixed berry is the perfect violet shade!). Although I haven't tried it, I am thinking that grape, lime, vanilla, blueberry and cherry vodkas would all be great!
- Instead of Raspberry liqueur use Crème de Cassis, or your favourite dark fruit liqueur.
- Swap the lime juice for soda and make a long drink (more below)
Turn your shooter into a long drink
If you want a longer drink, replace the ⅓ cup lime juice with a 1 cup of citrus soda and serve in a highball with crushed ice.
I would still rim the glass with sugar as I love the sweet hit you get and it looks so pretty!
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What should I rim the glass with?
If you can find it, black sanding sugar would be a great to use on the glass rim. I have found it in local cake decorating shops and also amazon.
But to get the wonderful purple color on the sugar rim. I use purple food coloring. I mix lime juice with some dark purple food coloring (or a small dash of red and blue). Dip the shot glasses into the purple liquid, then dip them into the sugar. The food colouring soaks into the sugar giving it a purple hue.
If you want to avoid food coloring then you can just use lime juice and sugar. It won't look purple but it will still add a nice sweetness to the drink.
Enjoy x
For more spooky halloween cocktail ideas why not try my Witches Blood Cocktail or my Haunted Graveyard. Both are great for Halloween.
Plus I have a whole collection of halloween snacks for you. What about Snakes Tongue Rolls, or Sweet and Sour Bat Wings? Or if you have a sweet tooth, why not try my Rice Crispy Brains, or my super simple Jell-o Jack-o-lanterns.
If you try this Halloween Cocktail, please leave a 🌟star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I really appreciate it, and it helps others to know that the recipe is trustworthy.
Any questions about the recipe? Use the comments section below.
Get the Recipe
'Witches Brew'- A Halloween Cocktail
Ingredients
To rim the glass
- 1 fresh lime
- 3 drops purple food colouring
- 2 tablespoon sugar
For the cocktail
- ½ cup vodka
- ⅓ cup lime juice (see note 1)
- ¼ cup raspberry liqueur
Instructions
Start by preparing the shot glasses.
- Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice together into a saucer.1 fresh lime
- Add the purple food colouring and mix with a cocktail stick.3 drops purple food colouring
- Place the sugar in a second saucer.2 tablespoon sugar
- Dip the shot glasses into the lime juice and then into the sugar.
- Set to one side.
To make the cocktail
- Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Add the ice.½ cup vodka⅓ cup lime juice¼ cup raspberry liqueur
- Shake well.
- Strain into the prepared shot glass.
Notes
- To turn this shooter into a long drink replace the ⅓ cup lime juice with a 1 cup of citrus soda and serve in a highball with crushed ice.
- The nutritional information is based on the cocktail without the sugar rim.
Nutrition
Nutrition is per serving
nm says
would tequila change the taste a lot here or do you think it could still work if I subbed it for vodka?
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
It would definitely change the flavor, but I think it would still be a delicious drink.
Do let me know if you try it 🙂
Cx
Michael says
Looks great!
I found these one for you so you might like to try them? No pictures though:
Bloody Mary
A classic cocktail if ever there was one. I like to start with a glass full of ice, a good glug of vodka and a decent-quality tomato juice. Everyone has their favourite seasonings but I tend to go for a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce, a touch of Tabasco or some horseradish – fresh, grated if possible, then a pinch of celery salt and a crack of black pepper. Ideally, I like to garnish with a huge stick of celery as well as a large wedge of lemon.
Zombie
A ghoulish rum-based punch made with a blend of dark and white rum (often overproof), topped up with pineapple juice, and a couple of good squeezes of lime and/or pink grapefruit, a touch of pastis and a dash of grenadine. Garnish with cherries and mint.
Toffee Apple Sour
I always think Calvados is a great autumnal spirit and would be a good idea for a grown-up treat for Bonfire Night too. Shake the Calvados with egg white, lemon juice, and a squeeze of agave syrup, golden syrup or toffee sauce and serve in some chic glasses for lovely warming treat.
Pumpkin Spiced Old Fashioned
I love to make an old fashioned with plenty of bourbon, stirred over ice and a simple syrup (dissolve a lot of dark brown sugar into a small amount of water), with a few shakes of angostura bitters, garnished with a twist of orange peel. At Halloween, however, I might swap the bitters for a more spiced orange-based bitter, add a cinnamon stick and possibly a dash of pumpkin spiced syrup (now widely available for coffees).
Satan’s Whiskers
A twist on a gin martini – shake gin with both red and dry white vermouth and a little triple sec. Lengthen with a dash of orange juice (blood orange juice looks great) and serve with citrus-peel garnish.
Beth says
Just made this for my dad and I after returning from a haunted house. It. Is. AMAZING. Thank you for posting this recipe!!!
Jillian says
Hello! I want to make these for a girls night, would I be able to make the drink the night before? Thanks!!
Claire McEwen says
Hi Jillian,
You could definitely make this up in a pitcher the night before or the morning of a party, and then just keep it in the fridge. I would make sure you cover the top with a lid or some saran wrap to keep it as fresh as possible.
Hope that helps
Cx
Adam says
I just made this twice using Chambord and following the directions exactly. And like the others, the color is definitely pink. Not purple. Is this a case of too much photo editing or did you add some food coloring? Thanks!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
I made this again this Halloween and it definitely wasn't as purple as it has been in previous years. I think perhaps the Chambord has become more pink.
As I didn't add any food colouring and although the photos are edited I generally only brighten colours and deepen the blacks.
Concetta says
Have you ever tried this with black rum instead of vodka?
Claire McEwen says
I haven't but I would be interested to try it!
The color would be great I think!
Cx
Amanda says
Hi, this looks brilliant!!! I am wondering if this can be converted to a punch bowl drink, or if it should only be served as an individual drink? Thanks 🙂
Claire McEwen says
Hi Amanda,
I think it would work as a punch bowl drink.
I would replace the lime juice with a citrus soda (like sprite or 7Up)
The following should make 28 half cup measures which is about the size of a punch cup:
4 cup vodka
8 cups citrus soda
2 cup raspberry liqueur
Hope that helps
Cx
Dylan says
Hi, can you clarify what "citrus soda" is when swapping out lime juice for larger servings? I think I have an idea what you refer to, but need to be sure
Claire McEwen says
Hi Dylan,
I use either Sprite or 7Up, but you can use any grocery store brand one instead.
Hope that helps 🙂
Cx
Rachel K. says
Hey! I'm making this for a Halloween party this Saturday but I'm baffled at how you get that gorgeous purple color. What raspberry liqueur did you use? What I found is red. Is it supposed to be blackberry?
Claire McEwen says
Hi Rachel,
I use a raspberry liqueur called Chambord. It is a deep purple colour, which is what gives the cocktail its fab colour. 🙂 It is the only raspberry liqueur I can get in my local store.
If all you can find are red raspberry liquors, I think your suggestion to use a blackberry liqueur in its place would be a good one. I think the flavours would still work.
Hope that helps 🙂
Cx
Cassandra Hendrickson says
This is maybe a weird question but will the purple food coloring stain my guests lips and teeth?
Thanks for the idea 🙂
Claire McEwen says
Hi Cassandra,
I have found because it is only a tiny bit of coloring in the sugar to rim the glass, and none in the cocktail, it doesn't stain lips. I guess if you drink several of them it might start to.
If you are worried you could always skip the colored sugar and just use white sugar, or if you can find it black sugar would be great!
Hope that helps Cx
Carolyn says
Have you ever used black vodka (like Blavod) for this recipe?
Claire McEwen says
I haven't tried it in this recipe Carolyn, but I think it would be a great addition. I did use it when I tested my Witches Blood cocktail, and it made the colour so dramatic! I loved it, but I left it as an optional ingredient on there as I wasn't sure how accessible it was.
If you try it do let me know 😀
Or tag me on social media if you upload a photo 😀
I'm @sprinklesandsprouts on instagram.
Dennise says
Hi, I have a question. Do you add the lime juice to the vodka and raspberry liquor? Or do you only use the lime for the rim of the shot glass?
Claire McEwen says
Hi Dennise,
The 1/3 cup of lime juice gets added to the cocktail, the fresh lime is for rimming the glass.
I will update the recipe to make it a little clearer.
Happy Halloween 😀
Samantha Higgins says
What is a cup of vodka in mls?
Claire McEwen says
Hi Samantha,
If you are using mls the recipe will read:
1 fresh lime
3 drops purple food colouring
1 tbsp sugar
120 ml vodka (Black vodka is even better)
80 ml lime juice
60 ml raspberry liqueur
I hope that helps.
Claire
p.s On most of my recent recipes there should be the option to switch between US Customary and Metric measurements. It is a toggle at the bottom of the ingredient list. For some reason that isn't working on this recipe 🙁 I will look into that and fix it ASAP.
Martha says
I don't like raspberry flavor at all. Is there something I can substitute in place of the raspberry liqueur? This looks awesome for Halloween but I would like to be able to enjoy one too. Thanks.
Claire McEwen says
Hi Martha,
You could try a berry liquor like cassis, that should work with the lime juice. It might be a little more red than purple, but it will still have a great halloween colour. Hope that helps
Cx
Sylvia says
Hi I don’t understand how it ends up purple if you use raspberry liquor
Claire McEwen says
Hi Sylvia,
I think it depends on the raspberry liquor you use, but the major brand seems to be a very dark purple and when mixed with the lime it produces the color you see here. The brand I use is Chambord.
hope that helps
Cx