Ghoul-Ade

Here’s the thing about Halloween party drinks: they need to look creepy and taste good enough that kids keep coming back for refills. Ghoul-Ade nails both. Mix orange and grape powdered drink mix together and you get a punch that’s black as midnight. Not purple, not dark blue. Black. The color chemistry is almost too good.

Five ingredients, one punch bowl, and about five minutes of effort. Dissolve sugar in cold water, stir in both drink mix packets, then add chilled ginger ale right before serving for fizz. That’s it.

The ginger ale adds a bubbly sparkle that makes this feel more like a party drink and less like a jug of Kool-Aid. Pour it at the last minute so it stays fizzy through the party.

Set up the punch bowl with a rubber glove frozen full of water as the “ice hand” floating on top. Or freeze gummy worms into ice cubes. The black color makes everything floating in it look extra eerie.

Chef Tips

• Chill the water and ginger ale well before mixing. Adding ice dilutes the color and weakens the flavor.
• Stir the sugar until completely dissolved before adding the drink mix. Gritty punch is no fun.
• Add the ginger ale just before guests arrive for maximum fizz.

Variations

• Glow-in-the-dark: Add tonic water instead of regular water under a black light for an eerie glow.
• Adult version: Replace half the ginger ale with prosecco or sparkling wine for a grown-up Halloween cocktail.