Halloween got cancelled this year, which came as no surprise. 2020, will you give us a break already? I am the kind of person who loves dressing up, going out and celebrate Halloween! Well, none of that this year – we had to make other plans.

We all know Halloween is the perfect excuse for baking spooky treats, but that’s not really my thing. Me? I love an opportunity to use a cocktail shaker or come up with cocktail recipes!

We have been really enjoying making cocktails at home during lockdown. In our search for interesting drinks to make, we have managed to get quite an interesting range of flavoured liqueurs and spirits. So, I decided to come up with a concoction especially designed for Halloween.

My custom Halloween drink is a layered shot made with a base of Kahlua, then Baileys Red Velvet Cupcake, and Amaretto on top. As it’s a shot, it’s meant to drink in a oner to get all the flavours. Yum!

This drink is rich and creamy, smooth and strong at the same time. If you love coffee flavour and the creaminess of Baileys, plus hints of chocolate and nutty Amaretto, you will absolutely adore this drink.

My Halloween cocktail is a take from one of my favourite shots ever, the B-52, which is a stunningly layered shot with coffee liqueur, Irish cream, and a Grand Marnier. The Grand Marnier gives the B-52 an orange head and a sharp citrusy flavour, while my cocktail is pink in the middle because of the Red velvet cupcake Baileys, and the flavour is sweeter with tones of chocolate and almonds. It may have spooky coloured layers, but there’s nothing scary about its taste, it’s a total delight!

Giveaway: Name the Cocktail!

I needed a name for my special Halloween drink, so I ran a giveaway asking for name ideas! I received lots of entries with fantastic name ideas, some of them super original, others super spooky! There were some real Halloweeny suggestions such as ‘brain scrambler’, ‘liqueur lobotomy’, ‘bloodstream’ and many more.

Trying to choose a winner, I realised that many of the ideas suggested were already names for existing cocktails. You’d be surprised how many cocktails for Halloween are out there!!

Because I wanted my drink to have a unique name, I opted for an idea that was new. I actually chose two names, and published a poll to choose the winner. The runner up was ‘Bloody Dream’, and the winner name was Dra-Kahlua’s Velvet Potion.

I thought this name was super clever, combining Dracula with the name of the base coffee liqueur, and then adding velvet potion, making a reference to the delicious Red Velvet Baileys. Yes, this name ticked all the boxes – spooky, descriptive, whimsical! If I found this on a Halloween drinks menu, I would be totally intrigued!

See below for how to make this delicious drink. If you screw up the layers, do not worry – it’s meant to be drunk as a shot anyway!

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Dra-Kahlua’s Velvet Potion

Halloween Cocktail

Ingredients

• 1/2 ounce Kahlua (or other coffee liqueur, such as Tia Maria)
• 1/2 ounce Baileys Red Velvet Cupcake
• 1/2 ounce Amaretto

Method

In a large shot glass, pour each drink carefully in the order listed above, using the back of a spoon to slowly pour the 2nd and 3rd layers an create the layers. Let the layers set for a few minutes. Drink in one go!

If you make this for your Halloween celebrations (or just as a treat anytime, because it really is lovely!) let me know!! Or DM me to share your pics (@GlasgowFoodelicious), I’d love to see them!