We’re all for a nice glass of bone-dry wine or a Glencairn of fine Scotch when we’re in the mood for a real grown-up beverage...but sometimes (and especially on Halloween night), we’re craving a truly decadent, sugar-soaked dessert cocktail that tastes like our emptied-out pillowcase treasures made liquid.
With more candy-flavored spirits than ever hitting shelves, it’s easy as saying “trick or treat” to shake up a frightfully delicious cocktail to enjoy on All Hallow’s Eve. Keep scrolling for the 8 best candy-flavored cocktails to try this fall.
Fun fact: chocolate and hazelnuts both contain a compound called theobromine, which is why their flavors complement each other so well. You know what else complements chocolate and hazlenuts? Baileys. Blend up this nutty, creamy, frozen concoction to turn the sweetness up and turn the temperature down when you're overheated this Floridian fall.
Candy inspiration: Ferrero Rocher
The Recipe
1 ounce melted chocolate
3 ounces Baileys Original Irish Cream
Smear the rim of a martini glass with melted chocolate. Dip into crushed hazelnuts. Refrigerate to chill. Then, blend Baileys, almond milk, banana and a handful of ice cubes until smooth. Pour the mixture into the prepared glass and garnish with crushed peanuts.
If you’ve never tried a cocktail with pecan liqueur before, prepare to keep this nutty cordial stocked on your bar cart forevermore. Mixed with rich salted caramel bourbon and a hint of barrel-aged maple syrup, this is a pie-flavored cocktail you may prefer to an actual slice after Thanksgiving dinner.
Candy inspiration: Werther’s Original, salted caramel fudge or turtles
The Recipe
2 ounces Cooper’s Mark Salted Caramel Bourbon
¼ ounce Praline Pecan Liqueur
2 dashes chocolate bitters
1 dash orange bitters
1 teaspoon simple syrup or maple syrup
Cocoa powder
Add bourbon, pecan liqueur, chocolate bitters, orange bitters and syrup to a mixing glass over ice. Stir until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with an orange peel twist and cocoa powder.
Any cocktail recipe that features two different whiskeys, ESPECIALLY when one of them is a chocolate peanut butter whiskey, is bound to be delectable. The addition of Amaro adds just the right amount of bitter to balance the candy-like sweetness. Old Fashioned and Manhattan lovers, this is your Halloween night tipple.
Candy inspiration: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
If there’s one flavor that instantly teleports us back to our childhood home’s kitchen table after school, it’s a fluffernutter sandwich. Recreate this youthful delight with Blind Squirrel Fluffernutter Whiskey (yes, it’s a thing, and yes, it’s as delicious as it sounds). Toast a skewer of mini marshmallows with a hand torch for a picture-perfect garnish.
Candy inspiration: Fluffernutter Sandwich Candy or Mallo Cups
The Recipe
2 ounces Blind Squirrel Fluffernutter Whiskey
1 ounce heavy cream or half & half
½ ounce marshmallow syrup or simple syrup
Toasted marshmallow skewer
Add whiskey, liqueur, cream and syrup to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a toasted marshmallow skewer.
Crown Royal Chocolate Whisky just hit shelves this year, and we can think of no better way to use this hot new flavor than in a chocolate whisky espresso martini. You won't need to go door to door asking for treats this Halloween; it already comes inside an iconic bag.
Candy inspiration: Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar
The Recipe
1 ½ ounces Crown Royal Chocolate Canadian Whisky
½ ounce simple syrup
1 ounce cold brew
3 espresso beans, chocolate shavings, cocoa powder (optional)
Add whisky, liqueur, simple syrup and cold brew to a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with 3 espresso beans and chocolate shavings or cocoa powder.
Peanut butter cups ain’t the most popular Halloween candy for nothing; it’s an undefeated flavor combo that’s easy as peanut butter pie to make into a cocktail. Just add peanut butter whiskey and a little dark creme de cacao to a steamy mug of hot chocolate to recreate this classic candy as a sippable treat.
Candy inspiration: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
The Recipe
1 ½ ounces Blind Squirrel Peanut Butter Whiskey
6 ounces hot chocolate
Chocolate syrup
Add whiskey, liqueur and hot chocolate to a mug. Top with whipped cream and drizzle with chocolate syrup. Garnish with chocolate shavings.
Long-time chocolate pistachio lovers in the year 2025 probably feel a bit like music lovers who claimed to listen to a band before they got famous. The other 99% of us who just found out about Dubai chocolate, that viral pistachio and kadayif chocolate bar sensation, will love this boozy take on the hottest candy du jour.
Candy inspiration: Dubai Chocolate
Click here for video instructions!
The Recipe
Chocolate syrup
1 ounce 1941 Craft Vodka
1 ounce heavy cream
Rim a glass with chocolate syrup and semi-crushed pistachios. Set aside. Add vodka, liqueurs, heavy cream and ice to a shaker. Shake vigorously and strain into the rimmed glass. Garnish with finely crushed pistachios.
Halloween candy is all about the dark and milk chocolate, but white chocolate lovers: we see you. When everyone dumps out their candy bags to start trading, you won’t be letting go of this decadent white chocolate raspberry martini made with white chocolate Irish cream, vanilla vodka and raspberry liqueur.
Candy inspiration: Lindt White Chocolate Truffles or Raspberry White Chocolate Bark
The Recipe
Raspberry syrup*
1 ounce Smirnoff Vanilla Vodka
¾ ounce Chambord Raspberry Liqueur
½ ounce half & half (optional, for creamier texture)
Raspberries
*Raspberry Syrup
1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
For raspberry syrup: In a small saucepan, combine raspberries, water and sugar. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, gently mashing the berries. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, discarding solids. Let cool completely before using.
For cocktail: Chill a martini glass and drizzle raspberry syrup inside (optional). Add Irish cream, vodka, raspberry liqueur and half and half to a shaker with ice and shake until cold and frothy. Strain into the prepared glass. Garnish with a fresh raspberry skewer.
