Rachel Marwedel
Website Manager
I hadn’t intended to make mocktails for Halloween, which is why you’re seeing this article so late. But when my Halloween plans got canceled, I decided to follow the age-old tradition of drowning my sorrows in alchoh-I mean, mocktails.
This week features a witchy “potion party” activity. Using a series of “potion ingredients” from my super secret book of spells, they are designed to be mixed together to create a custom drink for each person. It’s a fang-tastic way to make your next Halloween party more immersive and fun!
For your materials, purchase a variety of glass bottles in different shapes and sizes. I found mine at Michael’s. Make sure they have corks! You’ll also need some unbleached parchment paper and glue for your labels, as well as any other crafty decorations you’d like to add.
This activity is highly customizable, but beware – creating the different “potion ingredients” can be a tricky business. Because you don’t know how guests will mix them, all the ingredients must be able to work together. That can be hard! Additionally, each ingredient must have a similar consistency, and the ingredients must be substantially different. Good luck!
For the ingredients listed below, I haven’t included measurements. Make all to taste. (I will not be held liable if any guests turn into frogs!)
Pixie Urine:
Lemon Juice
Honey
Club Soda
If you have a tiny bottle, simply fill it with lemon juice. Otherwise, mix your ingredients to taste – go heavy on the lemon juice! Tip: heating your honey helps it dissolve better.
Distilled Spiderwebs:
A white liquid (not dairy)
I’d learned long ago to never ever mix dairy products and carbonation. But surely, I thought while creating this, that if I mix coconut water with just a few drops of milk to turn the solution white, it won’t affect the taste… You fool! Do not, I repeat, do not, use any kind of dairy product here. I still haven’t found a good white mocktail, but maybe a white Gatorade would work?
Essence of Darkness:
Plum juice (or pomegranate juice, or grape juice)
Edible glitter
A pinch of activated charcoal
There’s a lot of possible juices you can use here – just make sure to start with something already dark.
Blood:
Pomegranate juice
Cherry juice
Cranberry juice
Choose two of the three juices and mix. If you go with just one, it will be too overpowering. While I was writing this, I had the thought – maybe add some molasses?
Nightshade Leaves:
Mint Leaves
Not much to say here – just make sure your leaves are washed. Oh, and don’t use actual nightshade leaves!
Eyeballs:
Lychee
Blueberries
I couldn’t find either lychee or blueberries, so I used longan and dried blueberries instead. It’s the same principle – hollow out the fruit a bit, and place the blueberry inside.
You can also customize this for different holidays and parties! As we approach the winter holidays, here are some ideas for a Christmas-themed activity. Just a warning: this is all organic, free-range imagination straight from Rachel – in other words, all of these ideas are untested!
Scrooge’s Nightcap: Rosemary-infused tonic water. Shove some fresh rosemary into your tonic water the night before, allowing it to soak. Make sure to reseal the tonic water as quickly as possible, retaining as much carbonation as possible.
Gingerbread Gasoline: Ginger beer with nutmeg and cinnamon.
Melted Icicles: Cream soda and mint extract.
Head Elf’s Holiday Blend: Cranberry juice mixed with orange juice.
Reindeer Spit: Apple juice, vanilla extract, and maple syrup.
And of course, think of your own mixtures and concoctions!
