Trick-or-Treat Cocktails For The Grown-Ups to Celebrate Halloween

While the kids trick-or-treat this Halloween, you can shake and stir adult delicacies. The confection-inspired cocktails below combine the flavors of candy corn, peanut butter cups, caramel apples, and other favorite goodies with whisky for a festive blend of whimsy and nostalgia. And don't worry—these drinks aren't sugar bombs. Other classic fall flavors, like corn and pumpkin, balance everything to satisfy your inner child yet offer the complexity only adults can appreciate.

Candy Corn Old Fashioned

Created by Owen Sears, bartender, Virgin Hotels New Orleans

Everyone may love to hate candy corn, but who doesn’t love an Old Fashioned? Here, corn liqueur balances sweet marshmallow syrup, creating a cozy, rich, well-rounded cocktail.

• 2 1/2 oz. Elijah Craig straight rye (or other rye)
• 1/2 oz. DaVinci toasted marshmallow syrup
• 1/4 oz. Nixta Licor de Elote
• 1 dash orange bitters
• Orange twist for garnish

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass and fill with ice. Stir for at least 10 seconds, then strain into a rocks glass and garnish with orange twist.

Peanut Butter Cup

Created by Devin Kennedy, partner and creative director, Press Club, Washington, D.C.

“This is like getting a full-sized Reese's while trick-or-treating,” Kennedy says.

• 1 1/2 oz. peanut butter fat-washed whiskey (recipe below)
• 1/4 oz. crème de cacao
• 1/4 oz. oloroso sherry
• 1 barspoon simple syrup
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass and fill with ice. Stir for 15 to 20 seconds. Strain over a large cube in a rocks glass.

Peanut Butter Fat-Washed Whiskey

• 16-oz. jar peanut butter
• 750 ml. Rieger’s Kansas City Whiskey (or any rye or bourbon)

Spread peanut butter across a large baking sheet with a lip, creating a thin, even layer. Pour whiskey over top. Cover the sheet tightly with plastic wrap to prevent evaporation and allow to sit overnight at room temperature. The next day, strain the whisky through a coffee filter and funnel it back into the bottle. Discard the peanut butter. Keep refrigerated for two to three weeks.

Halloween Crutch

Created by Nicole Morais, director of food and beverage, Grande Lakes Orlando

“This combination of spice and bourbon was inspired by classic Halloween flavors, like caramel apples and spiced sweets, making it the ideal drink for any festive gathering,” Morais says.

• 1 sugar cube
• 3 dashes orange bitters
• 2 oz. Contradiction bourbon (or other four-grain bourbon)
• 1/2 oz. Pimento Dram
• 1/2 oz. apple cider
• Maraschino cherry and orange twist for garnish

In a mixing glass, add sugar cube and orange bitters. Muddle until sugar cube is dissolved. Add ice, then pour in bourbon, Pimento Dram, and apple cider. Stir until well chilled, about 10 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass over a large cube. Garnish with cherry and orange twist.

Harvest Moon

Created by Mickey Mullins, beverage director, The Bower and Bower Bar, New Orleans

This drink starts with bright red apple and fall spice, with a slight burn of rye at the finish. The aquafaba gives the drink a luxurious texture reminiscent of a caramel apple.

• 1 1/4 oz. Sazerac Rye (or other rye)
• 3/4 oz. 360 Red Delicious Apple Flavored vodka
• 1/2 oz. Reàl pumpkin puree (or other pumpkin puree syrup)
• 3/4 oz. aquafaba
• Lemon slices for garnish

Add all ingredients to a shaker tin with ice. Shake for 30 seconds. Strain over ice in a rocks glass and garnish with lemon slices.

After Life

Created by Jenna Marmaduke, bartender, Sonder Social Club, Dunedin, Florida

Elevate classic fall flavors into something richer and more complex. “The bourbon brings warmth, like a fire on a crisp autumn night, while the chai spices and hint of pumpkin evoke the flavors of the season,” Marmaduke says. “It’s like a grown-up version of all the treats we loved as kids, but with a sophisticated, festive twist.”

• 1 1/2 oz. Angel’s Envy (or other port-finished bourbon)
• 2 oz. unsweetened almond milk
• 1 oz. vanilla chai syrup (recipe below)
• 1/2 oz. Giffard Piment d'Espelette (or other chile liqueur)
• 1/2 oz. cinnamon syrup
• 1/2 oz. Reàl pumpkin puree (or other pumpkin puree syrup)
• Cinnamon stick for garnish

Add all ingredients to a shaker tin with ice. Shake for 30 seconds. Strain over crushed ice in a skull glass or highball. Garnish with cinnamon stick.

Vanilla Chai Syrup

• 1/2 cup water
• 4 vanilla chai tea bags
• 1/2 cup sugar

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Add tea bags, remove from heat, and let steep 30 minutes to 1 hour (the longer, the stronger the flavor). Remove tea bags and return pot to the stove over medium heat. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes. Strain into a sealable container. Keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.