We’ve covered some ideas down for creepy blood-red Halloween cocktails (see previous post), but of course it’s always fun to serve up signature drinks at Halloween parties that feature the traditional orange & black. Orange is probably the premier Halloween color, and black cocktails are spooky & unusual all on their own! If you really want to go all out with your bar display, offer your guests 2 signature drinks – one orange option & one black option – and display them on trays right next to each other. Here are a few ideas:

1. BLACK MARTINI
{via about.com}

Ingredients:
3.5 oz black vodka
.5 oz blackberry brandy or Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur
edible gold flake and/or black olive for garnish

Directions:
Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass or serve on the rocks in an old-fashioned glass. Garnish with edible gold flake or a black olive.

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2. SCREWED-UP SCREWDRIVER
(two-tone cocktail pictured in image #2, via Martha Stewart)

Yield: 1 cocktail

Ingredients:
1/4 cup ice
1/2 cup freshly squeezed tangerine juice
1 1/2 ounces black vodka
1 black licorice twist, for serving

Directions:
Place ice in a tall glass. Pour juice into glass. Pour vodka over the back of a cocktail spoon into glass so it sits on top of juice and creates a layer of black. Slice 1/4 inch off each end of licorice, and use as a straw. Serve immediately.
{Click here for the recipes of the two other Halloween cocktails pictured in image #2: Berry Scary Martini and Ghost in the Graveyard}

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3. BLACK HALLOWEEN PUNCH (Mocktail)
{via All Recipes}

Ingredients:
1 (.13 ounce) envelope unsweetened grape soft drink mix
1 (.13 ounce) envelope unsweetened orange soft drink mix
2 cups white sugar
3 quarts cold water
1 liter ginger ale

Directions:
Stir together grape soft drink mix, orange soft drink mix, sugar and water until solids are dissolved. Combine with chilled ginger ale just before serving. Dip the frozen hand briefly in warm water, then peel off the glove. Float the prepared hand in the punch bowl for a ghastly effect.
To make a frozen hand, wash a disposable glove, fill with water, seal with a rubber band and freeze until hard.

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4. THE WIDOW'S TOUCH
{via Epicurious}

Ingredients:
1 cup ice cubes
5 tablespoons Laird's Applejack
3 tablespoons St-Germain (elderflower liqueur)
1 tablespoon Bénédictine liqueur
2 dashes of angostura bitters

Directions:
Place ice cubes in cocktail shaker. Add remaining ingredients and stir 20 to 30 seconds. Strain into 2 chilled small coupe glasses and serve.