Here’s a Halloween riddle for you: What’s not a ghost, but will disappear before you can say “boo!” Answer: Any one of these drinks, probably. No Halloween function is complete without a few fun and delicious cocktails, and because a little something for everyone is nice, you’ll find a wine drink, a vodka drink, and a cognac-based refreshment.

Also, because the alcohol-free train seems like it’s getting fuller all the time, each cocktail has a mocktail twin that does more than serve up the mixer and call it a day. Exercise your mixologist muscle and introduce NA apéritifs and spirits to the mix. Your late-bloomer goth phase starts today.

Spooky Sangria

This sanguine wine drink has lots of fruity flesh therein and tons of antioxidants, which you will neither remember nor care about for very long, perhaps. This twist on the classic recipe is more about dark berries, grapes, and black plums than the standard apples and oranges (for a fun garnish, consider halved rambutans or lychee).

Over roughly 4 cups of fruit, pour 750 mL of the darkest red wine on the shelves, plus ½ cup (or ¾ cup if you dare) of your favorite brandy, plus 3 Tbsp (to taste) simple syrup.

Lastly, add 3 cups (or less, no judgment) of your preferred soda (lemon/lime or plain sparkling water are fine) or fruit juice (pomegranate works well). Optionally, you might want to punch up the flavor of your sangria with 1 tsp ground clove.

Mocktail Twin — Because the people demand and deserve more than sparkling grape, you can serve up an alcohol-free alternative by just replacing the wine with pomegranate and/or red grape juice, and substitute the brandy with a flavorful nonalcoholic spirit. The rest of the recipe can follow the boozy one, but be careful with the soda or juice portion, tasting along the way so that the NA variety is neither over-the-top sweet nor bland.

Black Widow

Many recipes share the “black widow” name, but the variations that invoke activated charcoal (½ – 1 tsp) are giving the most gothic flair. There are also recipes that call for black vodka, but that’s not necessary for this recipe and could also hold you back (i.e., you waste time looking for black vodka that tastes good, when you have better options at hand). Just use 2 ounces of your favorite vodka, or you could also sub in gin.

The next ingredient, créme de cassis — a French blackcurrant liqueur — is key because it not only contributes to the richness and complexity of the drink, it also lends a hand to that deep dark color.

Measure 2 ounces, and if you don’t have créme de cassis, blackberry liqueur (crème de mûre) works as well.

From here, there are many options for additional zhush: 1 ounce of kahlua, or alternatively 1 ounce of lemon/lime juice, plus simple syrup (to taste) and a dash of orange bitters. The direction is up to you and depends on whether you prefer a drink that’s more creamy or on the tart side.

The finish is also optional, as you could use an ounce of ginger beer or soda water, and don’t forget a fresh blackberry garnish!

Mocktail Twin — The venomless version of your black widow is just as delicious and could consist of 2 ounces of coconut water (or for especially discerning folks, your favorite NA aperitif), plus 3 ounces of blackberry/pomegranate juice and the same amount of activated charcoal for that deep color. Finish it as you would the boozy version.

Jack O’ Lantern

If you, like so many, believe that you’re not delivering on the spirit of the season without at least one orange drink, add this one to your Halloween happy hour rotation. It’s simple to make as you only need 1 part cognac, 1 part orange liqueur (the good stuff…you know what I mean), some orange juice, a little soda, and a garnish. It’s more or less a spin on the classic sidecar cocktail. There are some very fun garnishes for this one, too: from cocktail picks lined with candy corn pumpkins (ew) to sophisticated dried blood orange slices. This is where you just have to know your audience and have fun with it!

Mocktail Twin — This one is pretty easy, as you can do equal parts orange juice, soda, and mango or grape juice, and a squeeze of lemon and serve a very yummy mocktail. However, if you’re expecting a few friends who can’t or don’t partake, do a little something special and pick up some alcohol-free orange bitters. Three dashes of that will no doubt take the drink up a few rungs and win you big points on the hosting front.

How to Turn Any Drink Into a Halloween Cocktail (or Mocktail)

Not sure if any of these recipes will elicit the party-time scares and screams you’re going for? No problem. It’s easy to turn any boozy (or booze-free) beverage into a Halloween cocktails with one simple addition: garnish.

That’s right – the secret is in how you dress it up. Try rimming the cup with red corn syrup or even strawberry syrup to get the effect of dripping blood. Tiny plastic spiders floating on the surface of a beverage will give a creepy twist to your usual margaritas or Moscow mules.

Halloween also welcomes plenty of fun gummy shapes – eyeballs, teeth, bugs, worms, pumpkins, and so much more make for a quick way to liven up a glass of champagne or even a frothy beer. Colorful rimming sugars are an easy way to get that Halloween cocktail look. Fruits, like lychees, peeled grapes, and even carefully carved apples and strawberries can help add a certain scare factor to the night’s libations.

Try giving your cocktails a thrilling name to match. Why not a Midnight in Manhattan or a Creepy Cosmo? Don’t forget other cocktails that already have perfectly scary names, like a corpse reviver, hangman’s blood, zombie, or the classic bloody Mary.