Spooky themed cocktails that will make your Halloween party go to the next level

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Celebrating Halloween makes everything more fun. From costumes to cocktails, this spooky holiday season has it all.

So, while you are planning your Halloween parties this season, KHON2.com thought that you’d like to experiment with some fun, easy to make cocktails and candies that will take your shindig to the next level.

For help with this, KHON2.com looked to Kōloa Rum. They take mixology seriously. Kōloa Rum utilizes the talents of mixologists and what they affectionately call “Rumtenders” and “Rumbassadors”.

Let’s take a look at what they have created.

The Creepy Crawler cocktail

This cocktail is described as a “creepy and creative dessert cocktail that is designed as a fun, nostalgic Halloween treat for an adult party.” It’s super easy to make in a small batch for just two people or you can increase the proportions and make enough for a crowd.

Created by Mixologist Lee Corbett, this cocktail is prepared with a perfectly ripe avocado, cocoa powder, maple syrup, chocolate sandwich cookies, gummy worms, sprigs of fresh thyme and, of course, Koloa Kaua’i Cacao Rum.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

This recipe makes two dessert-sized portions or four mini shot glass portions. Multiply as needed!

1 large ripe avocado

1 tbsp Kōloa Kaua’i Cacao Rum

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tbsp maple syrup

4 chocolate sandwich cookies

Gummy worms

Sprigs of fresh thyme

Directions:

1. In a mini food processor, combine the avocado, rum, cocoa powder, and maple syrup. Process until you achieve a thick, rich, completely homogeneous mousse, scraping down the sides as needed.
2. Taste the pudding and adjust as you see fit; you can add a few more pinches of cocoa powder for additional chocolate flavor and/or another dash of maple syrup for additional sweetness. The amounts you need will depend on the size of your avocado, so feel free to tweak until you achieve a flavor and texture you love.
3. Spoon the mousse into two small serving glasses or four shot glasses.
4. Put the cookies in the food processor and pulse it until you achieve an even, crumbly texture. Spoon the cookie powder over the mousse in the serving glasses.
5. Garnish the “dirt” with gummy worms and a few sprigs of fresh thyme.

Ingredient Notes:

This recipe requires a perfectly ripe avocado! It will not work with an under-ripe avocado, which will leave your mousse with unappealing avocado chunks. The avocado mousse is vegan; for a fully vegan dessert, make sure to choose vegan cookies and gelatin-free gummies.

Creative Notes:

Corbett designed this recipe as a fun, nostalgic Halloween treat for an adult party. Instead of the traditional box-mix pudding, this treat gets its richness from avocado; it’s better for the body, a local Hawaii ingredient and faster to make than pudding.

A Vampire’s Kiss

Described by its creator as haunting, bloody and ghoulish, a vampire’s kiss is the quintessential drink for the anyone wanting something new for Halloween. This fang-tastic concoction is made with tart cherry juice, lime juice, simple syrup, sparkling water, dry ice and Koloa Kaua’i Gold Rum. 

Here’s the recipe which makes one cocktail:

Ingredients:

1 ½ oz Kōloa Kaua’i Gold Rum

4 oz tart cherry juice

½ oz lime juice

½ oz simple syrup

4 oz sparkling water

Ice

Garnish with dry ice (optional)

Instructions:

Add ingredients (except soda water) into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds until shaker is frosty, then strain ingredients into a glass with ice. Top with soda water and stir.

Presentation notes:

For an extra spooky effect, use dry ice. Remember to follow instructions when using dry ice, use gloves and tongs to handle dry ice and do not ingest dry ice. Enjoy!

The Coffee Peanut Butter Cup Freezer Fudge

There are no tricks, just a treat with this cocktail. It’s described as a fun and simple way to incorporate coffee into your dessert ahead of your day of magical festivities.

Also created by Corbett, you’ll need to gather on your kitchen countertop smooth and natural drippy peanut butter, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, peanut butter cups, flaky sea salt and Koloa Kaua’i Coffee Rum. 

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 c smooth, natural, drippy peanut butter

¼ c Kōloa Kaua’i Coffee Rum

¼ c melted coconut oil

¼ c maple syrup

4 full-size peanut butter cups or 12 mini peanut butter cups

Few pinches of fleur de sel or other flaky sea salt

Directions:

1. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving enough paper on the sides so that you will be able to pull the fudge out after it sets.
2. Combine the peanut butter, rum, coconut oil, and maple syrup in a small pot.
3. Over very low heat, warm up the mixture until completely combined, stirring gently. Add another dash of coconut oil if you have trouble achieving a smooth mixture.
4. Pour the mixture into the lined bread pan. Freeze it for ten minutes (otherwise your peanut butter cups will melt!).
5. Chop the peanut butter cups into coarse chunks. Sprinkle them across the top of the fudge, pressing them down lightly into the surface so they stick. Finish it with a few generous pinches of flaky sea salt.
6. Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap and return the fudge to the freezer. Freeze overnight.
7. Remove the fudge from the freezer. Using the sides of the parchment paper, pull the fudge out of the pan. Make two cuts length-wise and four cuts width-wise to yield 15 small squares.
8. Store the fudge in the freezer in an air-tight container for up to several weeks. The texture is best when served straight out of the freezer.

Ingredient Notes:

This recipe will be most successful with a natural peanut butter that has just two ingredients: peanuts and salt. Peanut butters with added oils or sugar will not set as well in the freezer and are not recommended. This fudge is easily vegan if you use vegan peanut butter cups. It could also work with almond butter and almond butter cups if you need a peanut-free option.

Creative Notes:

Corbett designed this recipe for National Coffee Day since it’s a fun (and also very easy) way to incorporate the coffee rum into a dessert. This treat is very accessible since it requires about ten minutes of prep time and only a few ingredients. It’s also much better for the body than traditional fudge, which is loaded with refined sugars and high-fat dairy. This fudge could be a great homemade holiday gift too.

Well, there you have it. Three fun and easy cocktails and candies that you can make right at home as you prepare for the biggest and best Halloween party you’ve ever thrown. Have fun!

Also drink responsibly. Never drink and drive.