The Burroughs I heard the dreaded words holiday season on a commercial today. I’m going to pretend I didn’t, because I love the holidays but holy cow, can we concentrate on them one at a time??
The next one being, of course, Halloween! And I’m doing a new thing at Bear & Bug with this holiday–I’m throwing a virtual
Halloween party!
True confession: I’ve never really been into Halloween. I know a lot of people love the theatrical aspect, the creepiness, or the excuse to wear something silly and eat too much candy (or in a certain era of life, wear something silly and drink too much, um, adult beverage). I have a really hard time being silly for the sake of being silly. Even as a little kid, I dressed up pretty rather as silly –as a princess, or a bride (I think I was eight that year; people kept asking where the groom was). I think America embraces Halloween as a time when everyone can be something of a child, and I’d like to rediscover a little of that.
Here’s another confession: I’m a bad party hostess. I do a little planning, forget to clean the house, and then I think of all the things I should have done DURING the party and end up running around like a hyper chipmunk instead of enjoying my friends.
I’m going to tackle both of these things at once with this virtual party. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to share some recipes that will be simple, but capable of taking your own Halloween party to the next level. They’ll add to the theme, but they won’t require Martha Stewart-level cooking skills or hours and hours of your cleaning time. Who’s with me?
Halloween Party Punch: Chilled Dragon’s Blood
We’re kicking off with an adult-party ready punch with a fantastic name. It’s red with the blood of our (dragon) enemies and delicious cold, which is especially great for the warm Octobers we tend to have in Florida. It’s also pretty sweet, so if that’s not your thing, use less fruit punch soda. And of course, you can turn it into a Halloween punch for kids (or non-drinkers) by just leaving out the booze.
This punch recipe is adapted from Sandra Lee. Missed the rest of the party? Here are the links to Spidery 5-Layer Nacho Dip, Monster Meatloaf, and Chocolate Pretzel Mummies! And if you’re looking for more inspiration, try these!
- 16 Killer Halloween Punches from Southern Living
- 6 Best Halloween Punches from Food & Wine
- 27 To-Die-For Halloween Cocktails from HGTV
Next week, we’re talking appetizers! In the meantime, tell me: what’s YOUR favorite part of a Halloween party? The costume contest? The ridiculous amount of sweets? Let me know!
PrintChilled Dragon’s Blood Punch
- Prep Time: 0 hours
- Cook Time: 0 hours
- Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: About 1/2 gallon punch 1x
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups apple juice (12 ounces)
- 1 1/2 cups cranberry juice (12 ounces)
- Optional: 2 cups berry vodka (16 ounces)
- Optional: 1/4 cup orange liqueur, such as Cointreau (2 ounces)
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 cup fruit punch soda, chilled (8 ounces)
- 2 cups ginger ale, chilled (16 ounces)
- Ice
Instructions
- Stir together fruit juices and alcohol (if using) in a punch bowl or other large vessel. Chill at least 2 hours.
- Just before serving, add sodas. Serve over ice.
- Optional: Pour into goblets and toast your guests with the blood of the slain.
Notes
I used New Amsterdam Red Berry vodka and Cointreau; however, you could use other flavors to switch it up a little.
[…] Chilled Dragon’s Blood […]
How many bottles of vodka did use and what size? 8 cups seems like a lot.
Hi Chelsea! I took a look at the recipe and you’re right, the whole recipe as originally written was huge (something like 2 gallons of punch)? I’ve revised it to make a smaller amount: it now calls for 2 cups, or 16 ounces, of vodka. A 750mL bottle would have more than enough for this recipe.
Thanks for catching that! Enjoy the punch 🙂