Bartenders Tell Us: What’s the Scariest Drink to Serve on Halloween?

It’s nearly the scariest day of the year–Halloween! Really, it’s more scary fun than anything, and if you have the right drinks, scary tasty, too. But are there any drinks that scare bartenders? And what do our local shakers like to sip when the ghouls, goblins, and more modern haunts are traversing our fair streets?

To find out, we asked six top local bar-demons (a.k.a. bartenders) a few eerie questions. (Be sure you have the light on when you read their answers. Bwhahahaha.)

1. Were there any drinks that scared you, to make or drink, when growing up, and why?

2. Are there any drinks today that scare you to make or drink?

3. What spooky drinks will you be having and serving on Halloween?

Bridget Maloney, The Sexton

1. I started bartending at a bar in Alaska where I served lot of Long Islands, Fireball, Jager bombs and highballs. We had some special cocktails, but if anyone came in asking for a craft cocktail, I had no idea what I was doing. “Oh you want a Sazerac? How about a whiskey seven.” I guess the times have changed!

2. Any drink at Speed Rack in front of hundreds of people for the panel of judges, who are the most critical customers you will ever have.

3. Halloween is on a Saturday this year so the night is going to be wild! The Sexton is doing a witchy New Orleans Coven theme where are going to have some fun Drambuie Jello shots and a Sailor Jerry’s Witches Brew punch!

Perryn Wright, Teacher’s Lounge

1. There’s no drink that I’ve ever been scared to make (I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?), but after a stint at The Keg in my youth (shout out to Sennen David!), I have always been a bit grossed out by Bloody Marys and especially Bloody Caesars. The horror!

2. Same as above. The horror!

3. While don’t have any special spooky drinks planned this year, if you wanna see something truly frightening on Halloween, come check me out in Spandex! (Editor’s Note: That is a scary thought. As for Oct. 31 drinks though, I think the Teacher’s Lounge Blood Orange, with vodka, Campari, triple sec, and orange juice, is not only luscious, but ideal for All Hallow’s Eve. Even a vampire will love it.)

Sara Rosales, Radiator Whiskey

1. When I was a kid, my friend and I would spend hours making frothy and explosive concoctions out of anything we could find in the cupboards, and then dare each other to drink it–that was pretty frightening.

2. I’m both afraid to make and drink an Irish Car Bomb. Nothing good ever comes from an Irish Car Bomb.

3. Last year the employees that worked on Halloween all dressed up as Dead Milkmen and I had a cocktail special called “Drink Your Paisley” which was a play on the Dead Milkmen album Eat Your Paisley.”We garnished the drinks with lemon and lime peel paisley’s. This year we are collectively dressing up as Dead Kennedy’s, I’ll be Jackie-o. I’ll have an egg white cocktail made with Makers 46, ginger/black pepper syrup, lemon, allspice dram, and egg white garnished with DK painted on with bitters.

Jesse Cyr, Rob Roy

1. I wouldn’t say I was scared of any drink when I was younger, but for some reason eggnog always weirded me out. I just didn’t get it. It kind of looked like mashed up eggs with cinnamon flakes in it. My mom always just bought the grocery store stuff in the cartons, so it wasn’t the best of quality. I absolutely love eggnog now, and even aged some for two months last year that was super tasty, but when I was first introduced to it, I just couldn’t wrap my head around what the heck it was.

2. Though they’re really fun to watch your bartender make, a Spanish Coffee and a Blue Blazer are a bit scary. Any time you have fire involved, you need to be very careful. It might look like the bartender is super relaxed and effortlessly pouring fire back and forth between two mugs or rolling lit overproof rum in a wine glass, but a lot of us are a bit on edge. If you drop some liquid while it’s ignited, it will continue to burn on whatever it lands on until the alcohol has been burned away or you extinguish it. Fire has a great theatrical element in bartending and helps to add to certain cocktails, but caution is always needed.

3. I’ll probably drink a Zombie. It’s the perfect cocktail with a Halloween theme right in the name. We have a White Zombie on our Monday Tiki night menu at Rob Roy that’s so incredibly tasty. Maybe I’ll have both the original and the white version and compare. In the name of learning, of course…

What I’ll be serving is a bourbon-based punch with pumpkin purée and other tasty seasonal ingredients. And the coolest part is the vessel it will be served in. For an individual serving, it will be a hollowed-out gourd. Want to share with your friends? Then you’ll get a small pumpkin that will hold enough cocktail for four people to share. How cool is that?

Madisyn Scribner, Witness

1. I had a deep-seated fear of Margaritas growing up. They used to contain some horrifying concoction involving bottled “Margarita mix,” gold tequila, and a blender. With the re-introduction of real, often freshly-squeezed juice, and 100 percent agave spirits, Margaritas are no longer the notoriously sweet, hangover-inducing abomination that they once were.

2. AMF, Gummy Bear shots, Scooby Snacks: any drink where the goal is to ingest as much alcohol as possible, as quickly as possible, while mimicking the flavors found in a gas station candy aisle.

3. I’ll be throwing plastic spiders and fake severed fingers on everything I make that night.

Darla Marchi, Ray’s

1. When I was a kid every cocktail sounded horrible: Bloody Mary, Rusty Nail, Duck Fart…

2. Cement Mixer. Never. A. Good. Idea.

3. I love Halloween, so every year I get excited to make pumpkin-infused bourbon. A few weeks ago, I took over the prep kitchen to gut and roast 20 sugar pie pumpkins. The result is my best batch ever. Now I’m like Bubba from Forrest Gump, “pumpkin Manhattan, pumpkin sour, pumpkin Old Fashioned, pumpkin Irish Coffee…”