Forget plastic spiders and suspiciously green punch. We've enlisted bartenders from three of Stockholm's finest cocktail bars to conjure up Halloween drinks that are scarily easy to recreate for any spooky celebration. Whether you're heading out to one of these hotspots or hosting at home, consider this your invitation to get into the spirit(s)
Halloween has the habit of bringing out the worst in cocktails. Drinks that glow an alarming shade of green, something resembling a severed finger floating in the glass and enough dry ice to suggest a minor industrial accident. Spooky? Certainly. Appetising? Debatable.
Of course, you could take a perfectly ordinary cocktail and give it a suitably witchy rebrand. In honour of Practical Magic 2, maybe a Midnight (Spicy) Margarita? A Dark and Stormy Night? Or a Hex-presso Martini (the only time you're permitted to say expresso instead of espresso). Some cocktails even come pre-haunted. The Bloody Mary, for instance, has done the Halloween heavy lifting long before anyone thought to garnish it with a plastic eyeball.
But surely we can do better than a spooky name and a questionable garnish? And while there's no shame in pouring a glass of wine and calling it a night, Halloween does present the perfect excuse to shake things up. Quite literally.
So, in the spirit of the spooky season (pun intended), Vogue Scandinavia has enlisted three of Stockholm's best cocktail haunts – Bar Kabinett, Coquetel Social, and Le Hibou – to conjure up their own Halloween-worthy creations, which have inspired our deliciously nightmarish nightcaps.
Whether you're hosting a full-blown monster mash or fancy a suitably spooky tipple, consider these the ultimate cocktail recipes and bars for a frightfully good evening.
Now, who's ready for a stiff spirit?