Can I make this into a mocktail?

Absolutely! Leave the vodka out and simply add more sparkling water and/or kombucha. Festive for kids or people who prefer no alcohol, this will still be a festive and fun Halloween drink that looks like blood!

Can I make this ahead of time?

While it is best made fresh, you can definitely prepare the 'batch' ahead of time and rim your glasses. Right before serving add the ice and sparkling water and/or kombucha so the fizz remains.

Can I use grenadine instead of Cointreau?

You definitely could. However, the idea here is to limit the red food dye, and Grenadine, unfortunately, has red food dye. As mentioned, so many products have red food dye, and the idea here is to limit the amount of foods and/or products we're consuming that contain it. Regardless, you can still have a fun and festive drink sans red food dye!

Blood Cherry Cocktail

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 1/2 ounces Vodka
2 ounces Tart Cherry Juice
1/2 oz Cointreau
1/2 ounce Simple Syrup
2 ounces sparkling water or Kombucha (Red)
Garnishes: corn syrup, natural red food dye, Dracula teeth, bats, spiders

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Instructions

Rim: First things first, let’s start with rimming the glasses with ‘blood’ syrup. It’s optional, but highly recommended if you’re celebrating the holiday! You can keep the glasses in the fridge to help keep the gel set and the stains lasting longer. I didn’t measure the corn syrup. However, it was about 1/4 cup of corn syrup, and then you can add as many drops of the food coloring as you like. Mine is more ‘pink’ than red as it is a natural food coloring. Place the black sanding sugar in a shallow dish or saucer. Wet the rim of the glass with the corn syrup/red gel mixture and dip the glass into the black sanding sugar, coating the top edge.
Add cherry juice, Cointreau, vodka, and simple syrup to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until combined, about 15 seconds.
Strain the shaker into your glass. Top off with sparkling water and/or Kombucha.
Garnish with eyeballs, Dracula teeth, spiders, or whatever else that’s festive!

Enjoy! Cherry Blood Cocktail is ready to serve, sip, and enjoy this Halloween!
Batch the cocktail: Place all of the ingredients into a pitcher, except the sparkling water and/or kombucha, and stir until mixed. Hold off adding ice until you’re ready to serve. Prepare the glasses separately, then add about 2/3 cup to each glass and top off with the sparkling water and/or kombucha. Garnish with eyeballs, Dracula teeth, or spiders!

Author: Amy's Nutrition Kitchen
Prep Time: 5
Category: Drinks