Black Vodka Halloween Drinks: Black Widow Cocktail
Home » COOK » Recipes » Beverages » Cocktails »As Halloween is creeping around the corner, we thought it was the perfect time to share one of our favorite Black Vodka Halloween Drinks with you. Say hello to the show-stopping Black Widow cocktail!
With layers of red and black, this spooky sipper is just the eerie elixir you need to get in the Halloween spirit. Trust us; you’ll be the talk of your next Halloween party. So, let’s get to shaking!
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While you may prefer to skip to the recipe card, we suggest reading the entire blog post to avoid missing valuable tips and substitution suggestions and to ensure you have the necessary ingredients, equipment, and understanding of the steps and timings.
Black Vodka Halloween Drinks
What we absolutely adore about this cocktail is its dramatic flair. The dark color of the Black Widow comes to life with pops of red, reminiscent of the black widow spider.
The spooky look makes it the perfect cocktail for your Halloween parties!
This delicious cocktail has two distinct layers—the red layer on the bottom is made with cranberry juice, grenadine, and spiced rum.
The black layer is a concoction of Blavod Original Black Vodka, Creme de Cassis, and Sprite.
If you can’t find Blavod Black Vodka at your local liquor store (or grocery store), you can actually make your own black vodka at home.
If you’re feeling adventurous, consider adding a small piece of dry ice to your drink! Read Dry Ice In Drinks for Halloween for all the safety tips.
Put that black vodka to good use, and try our Black Magic Cocktail next.
Be sure to check out our other spooky Halloween Cocktails, as well as 50+Freakishly Good Halloween Recipes for you to feast on, including appetizers, main dishes, sides, desserts, cakes, and cupcakes!
Cocktail Ingredients & Equipment
The ingredients and tools in this recipe are conveniently linked to online retailers like Amazon or Amazon Fresh.
Black Widow Cocktail Ingredients
- Blavod Original Black Vodka – if you can’t find Blavod Vodka in your local liquor stores, there are alternatives you can try:
- Eristoff Black Premium Vodka has a raspberry and blackcurrant flavor with a hint of licorice.
- Puschkin Black Berries Vodka Liqueur is made with blackberries and Siberian ginseng and has a deep purple color.
- Vestal Black Cherry Vodka, which, of course, has a cherry flavor and a deep burgundy color.
- Au Vodka Black Grape is another flavored vodka with a purple color.
- The taste will change depending on your vodka flavor, and you can deepen the color of these vodkas with black food coloring.
- Or you could follow our black vodka recipe (below) to make your own for Halloween drinks.
- Spiced Rum
- Creme De Cassis – A blackcurrant liqueur. If you are unable to find this, you could switch it for a Blackberry Liqueur, such as Bols, De Kuyper, or Crème de Mûre. There is also the option of Chambord, which is a French black raspberry liqueur.
- Grenadine – Pomegranate syrup.
- Cranberry Juice – You can switch this to pomegranate juice if you prefer.
- Edible Gold Luster Dust – This powder adds a shimmering effect to drinks.
- Lemon-Lime Soda – such as Sprite
- Black Food Coloring – to enhance the black color.
- Fresh Mint Leaves – Optional Garnish
- Maraschino Cherries – Optional Garnish
Cocktail Equipment
- This cocktail is shaken, but don’t worry if you don’t have a cocktail shaker!
- Use a container with a tight-fitting lid—like a mason jar or the cup on a blender or smoothie maker.
- Cocktail Skewers – for skewering cherries and other cocktail fruits
- Cocktail Glasses
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How To Make Homemade Black Vodka
If snagging a bottle of black vodka for our tantalizing Black Widow cocktail or other spooky black vodka cocktails isn’t an option, fear not! You can easily craft your own using clear vodka and some food coloring.
For a quick fix, add a couple of drops of black food dye right into your cocktail shaker as you’re mixing up a drink. We used this nifty trick when creating our Black Raven Cocktail.
Planning to serve up a whole cauldron of eerie Halloween drinks? Then, it’s more practical to color an entire bottle of vodka. Black gel food coloring is available at specialty baking shops or online, but liquid food coloring from your local grocery store will do the trick.
If black dye is elusive, you can create your own by blending equal parts of red, green, and blue food coloring. So, to turn a cup of vodka into a shadowy elixir, mix in 3 drops each of red, green, and blue food coloring into a glass jar or bottle and give it a good shake. You can scale this up for bigger batches.
One heads-up: the colors might separate a bit over time, so give your custom-colored vodka a good shake before crafting your cocktails.
Creating your own black vodka can be as intricate as infusing plain vodka with black rice, but let’s keep it simple—food coloring is the most straightforward approach!
A quick note of caution: steer clear of using activated charcoal powder to darken your spirits. It might interact adversely with certain medications. For a risk-free alternative, stick to food coloring. It’s easy, safe, and gets the job done!
When you see how easy it is to make black vodka, why not try coloring other clear liquors?
Make some black gin and use it to make a Black Widow Martini – pour 2½ oz black gin, ½ oz vermouth, and a splash of orange juice into a mixing glass and stir with a bar spoon. Pour into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a twist of orange peel.
Or, for a Black Margarita, shake 2 oz black tequila, ½ oz triple sec, 1 oz lime juice, and ½ oz simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Pour into a margarita glass with some black salt added to the rim of the glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.
Black Widow Cocktail Variations
Here are some variations of the original cocktail recipe you might like to try.
- Dark & Stormy Widow: Use ginger beer instead of lemon-lime soda in the recipe.
Virgin Black Widow Mocktail (Non-Alcoholic)
So that non-drinkers can enjoy this drink, we simply remove the alcohol and replace it!
Follow the recipe card using the non-alcoholic alternatives listed below instead of the alcoholic ones.
- For the red layer, shake together 3 oz Cranberry Juice, 1 oz Grenadine, and 1 teaspoon of gold luster dust until combined, and pour into an ice-filled glass.
- For the black layer, shake together 5 oz Sprite, 1 oz Blackberry or Blackcurrant Syrup, 1-2 drops of Black Food Coloring, and 1 teaspoon of gold luster dust. Pour on top of the red layer.
- Garnish with Fresh Mint and/or Maraschino Cherries.
I recommend adding the syrups to your taste as they may add the sweetness you may not necessarily get from alcoholic liqueurs.
Black Widow Mocktail with Non-Alcoholic Spirits
For adults who would still like to enjoy the taste of alcohol in their mocktail, you could try non-alcoholic alternatives.
In the UK, try Lyre’s, which is also available on Amazon in the UK and Amazon.com.
Other brands include Strykk (UK) and Ritual (US & Canada). Non-alcoholic spirits are a growing trend, so be on the lookout in your local stores and online.
- Instead of Spiced Rum, use Lyre’s Spiced Cane Spirit.
- Instead of Vodka, use Strykk Not V*dka and add a few drops of black food coloring.
- Instead of Creme de Cassis, use Blackberry or Blackcurrant Syrup.
Follow the recipe card using the non-alcoholic alternatives listed above instead of the alcoholic ones.
This cocktail recipe is intended for adults of the legal drinking age in your country of residence.
Please drink responsibly. Do not drink and drive.
How Do I Make a Black Widow Cocktail?
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Black Widow Cocktail
Want a spooky sipper that's as mesmerizing as it is delicious? Dive into the layers of our Black Widow Cocktail!
Ingredients
For the Red Layer
- 1 oz Spiced Rum
- ½ oz Grenadine
- 2 oz Cranberry Juice
- 1 tsp Edible Gold Luster Dust
For the Black Layer
- 2 oz Blavod Original Black Vodka
- ½ oz Creme De Cassis
- 2 oz Lemon-Lime Soda
- 1 tsp Edible Gold Luster Dust
- 1 drop Black Food Coloring
For Optional Garnish
- Fresh Mint Leaves
- Maraschino Cherries
Instructions
- Fill a cocktail glass with ice cubes and set it aside.
- To make the red layer, place the spiced rum, grenadine, cranberry juice, and gold dust into a cocktail shaker with ice.
- Shake well for 15-30 seconds to combine.
- Strain into the ice-filled glass.
- To make the black layer, place the black vodka, Creme de Cassis, lemon-lime soda, and gold dust into a cocktail shaker with ice.
- Shake well for 15-30 seconds to combine.
- Pour the black cocktail mixture on top of the red layer.
- Garnish cocktail with fresh mint and/or cherries. Enjoy, and Happy Halloween!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 333Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 18mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 1gSugar: 26gProtein: 1g
This site uses Nutritionix to provide estimated nutrition. Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Dinner Party Menu Suggestions
The beverage is covered, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to create a menu for a dinner party or special meal:
- Appetizer: Stuffed Mushrooms
- Soup: Pumpkin Soup
- Salad: Apple Salad Recipe with Toasted Hazelnuts
- Main Dish: Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs
- Side Dish: Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Dessert: Creepy Skull Cupcakes
The post is part of the Crafty October series on The Purple Pumpkin Blog. Check out Crafty October from 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012 for awesome Halloween ideas and inspiration; including recipes, printables, crafts, and more!
