Do Halloween Cocktails Sell?

We know beverage sales, especially alcoholic beverage sales are down. Way down.

But, as operators, we like the challenge. We like being innovative and finding creative means to combat this concerning trend, no??

But do Halloween cocktails fill this gap? Do guests buy these? Do Halloween cocktails sell??

We know mulled wine sells for the festive season. And we know that boozy egg-nog sells for Xmas parties. And yes, pink and rose colored cocktails often sell well for Valentine’s Day.

But what about Halloween cocktails??

Sure, Pumpkin spice lattes sell as do perhaps traditional Zombie cocktails.

But I’m talking about the cocktails that make you look twice. The cocktails garnished with a needle, voodoo nail clippings, fangs, black, teeth-staining vodka, severed fingers, a scorpion, or bloodshot eyeball-jellies.

We know the rise of the Classic Cocktails developed in large part due to distrust of too many “Signature” cocktails loaded with syrups, cocktails that took 20 minutes to make, and drinks that lost their chill (and interest) after you quickly uploaded the drink image to Instagram.?

We’ve also seen breakfast scores in hotels dip when CNN or BBC is played within eye or earshot of diners. Talk about gory details.?

So then, will guests pay for drinks that come with a little horror? Granted, there’s some good fun & creativity there, but with diners drinking less than they have in years, will we woo them back with an IV dip, a test-tube, or curdled peach schnapps and Baileys brain hemorrhage?