Forget margaritas, mojitos or cosmos – give me witches’ brews! Finding, creating or Halloween-ifying cocktail recipes is one of the highlights of planning a Halloween party for me. Each year I love brewing up something dangerously delicious for my guests to enjoy.
Over the years, I’ve served and enjoyed (even over-enjoyed) some fun cocktails with a Halloween twist. I trend towards liking tart drinks, so I’m always looking for ideas and recipes with that type of flavor. When I ran across Clinton Kelly’s Vampire Punch recipe (featured on “The Chew”), I fell in love.
Of course, I had to put my own spin on his drink and make it a little more boozy (which is an accomplishment if you know anything about Mr. Kelly’s drink preferences on that show), but to this day the recipe featured in this post remains one of my favorite witches’ brews I’ve ever made. You can find the original recipe over here – my modified version is below!

My Favorite Witches’ Brew:
Step-by-step photo directions are after recipe. (Because I hate when you have to scroll to the bottom of a blog for the recipe, don’t you?)

Witches' Brew
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 ounces vodka
- 1 ounce cherry liqueur
- 3/4 ounce lime juice
- 1 ounce cranberry juice
- 3-4 ounces club soda
- 6-8 ounces cherries optional
Instructions
- Combine vodka, cherry liqueur, lime juice, cranberry juice and club soda.
- Combine vodka, cherry liqueur, lime juice, cranberry juice and club soda.
- Stir to mix.
- Add ice!
- Optional: add fresh pitted cherries to cocktail for garnish.
Notes
Here’s how to make my favorite Witches’ Brew:

First, grab all your ingredients. (As you can see from my semi-empty bottles…I’m not one of those picture-perfect bloggers with brand new everything – I actually USE this stuff!)

First we’ll add one-and-a-half ounces of vodka.

Next is one ounce of cherry liqueur. The original recipe called for grenadine, which I don’t tend to enjoy, so I swapped it out for a bit more booze here. (I also love any excuse to throw Dr. McGillicuddy’s into a drink – I love their products…and no, that isn’t a sponsored mention. I genuinely love it…and need a refill!)

Add three-quarters of an ounce of lime juice. This is part of what makes this drink so deliciously tart! If you prefer drinks on the sweeter side, you can alter this to a half ounce or even just a splash for taste.

Add one ounce of cranberry juice.

And finally, add 3-4 ounces of club soda. If you want a sweeter drink, consider using lemon/lime soda. Don’t enjoy the carbonation? Use water!

Mix it all up!

Add ice, and you have my favorite Witches’ Brew!


In addition to loving the taste, I also love the color of this Witches’ Brew.

I mean, it looks pretty cool when you throw it in my cauldron punch bowl, doesn’t it?
As a bonus, you can also either add in pitted fresh cherries or maraschino cherries. I like to soak my cherries in straight vodka for at least 24 hours before adding them to the brew. If you’re doing the same with maraschino cherries, dump the liquid in the jar and replace with vodka.
What can I say? I like a boozy drink!

Just remember…Witches’ Brew can be potent! Drink responsibly.
Enjoy,




Dana
I love Clinton Kelly, I love The Chew, and this drink looks AMAZING! I’m sensing a Halloween-themed night in my future…
Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween
Yay! You’ll have to let me know what you think when you try it, Dana.
Sam @ The Haunted Housewife
That looks tasty! I’d dress it up with wax vampire fangs because of the color. Fangtastic haha! Side note: I love seeing HEB products in blog posts… oh, Texas!
Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween
Ooooh, perfect! It would be a fun one to put dry ice in too – get that bubbling witch cauldron effect going.
HEB is where I shop most often! :) Just a plus I get to show off how awesome they are in a blog post from time to time.