Purple People Eater (a Spooky Halloween Gin Cocktail)

I love gin, and when I saw Nippitaty's Aurora (purple gin), I knew it would be the perfect ingredient for my spooky gin cocktail, the Purple People Eater. In addition to purple gin, this cocktail is flavored with fresh basil, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, and elderflower tonic water. Dare I say it's a bloody good gin drink? (Pun intended.)

This deliciously eerie gin cocktail is an easy recipe to make when you want a signature drink for your Halloween party. It's the perfect way to get into the spirit! Or, if it's not spooky season, omit the gummy eyeball and garnish with fresh basil and a lemon wedge instead. This is one fun cocktail you can enjoy year-round.

Looking for more fun drink ideas? Be sure to check out my Spicy Grapefruit Ranch Water and Spiced Bourbon Black Tea Hot Toddy recipes. You'll also love this Green Wicked Witch cocktail for Halloween. Over the years, I've also developed a ton of drinks, especially fruity cocktail recipes.

Some of my favorites include the Blue Lagoon and classic Piña Coladas for Yummly, and Melon Sangria and Honey Paloma for Savannah Bee Company.

And, if you're on the hunt for more Halloween ideas, be sure to check out my scary good Halloween meatloaf recipe, adorable Halloween rice krispie treats, and Halloween popcorn mix.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Tasty tip
• Frequently asked questions
• Related
• Even more:
• 🍽Get the recipe
• Recipe guidelines and test kitchen tips
• Food safety

Ingredients

Before we get started, let's gather the ingredients we need for this spooky cocktail.

• purple gin
• lemon juice
• basil leaves
• granulated sugar
• water
• elderflower tonic water
• gummy eyeballs

(See recipe card for quantities.)

Instructions

Now that we've got our ingredients, it's time to get started!

Hint: Once the lemon juice mixes with the purple gin, the hue will naturally become more of a purply pink color.

Substitutions

Need some suggestions on ingredient adjustments? I've got you covered!

• Gin - I love to use our local Nippitaty purple gin, but other purple gins like empress gin will work great too. Or, regular dry gin is also a good substitute.
• Vodka - Not a fan of gin? That's okay. Vodka is a great alternative.
• Tonic - I love the floral notes the elderflower tonic gives to this delicious cocktail but feel free to use regular tonic water or soda water plus tonic syrup instead.

Variations

Here are some more ways to make this recipe your own:

• Berry gin cocktail - muddle about ¼ cup fresh blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries with the basil.
• Eyeballs - if you don't want to use gummy eyeballs you can make lychee eyeballs instead. Simply fill lychee fruit with blueberries.
• Non-alcoholic cocktail - make this an alcohol-free drink by omitting the gin and adding your favorite fruit juice like cranberry juice, pomegranate juice, grapefruit juice, or orange juice.

Equipment

Here's what you'll need to make this recipe:

• dry measuring cups
• liquid measuring cup
• small saucepan
• cocktail shaker
• muddler
• measuring spoons

Storage

This gin cocktail is best enjoyed right away.

Tasty tip

If you really want to add some hocus pocus to your Halloween party and make the decor spooktacular, fill a bowl with dry ice and pour some hot water over the top.

Frequently asked questions

Related

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Even more:

These are more of my favorite recipes:

🍽Get the recipe

Recipe guidelines and test kitchen tips

When developing and testing recipes, here are some key things that I do for more success in the kitchen:

• Be sure to use dry measuring cups for things like flour, sugar, and mayonnaise and a liquid measuring cup for things like water, milk, and broth.
• When measuring dry ingredients like flour and powdered sugar that can pack down, spoon the ingredient into a dry measuring cup and level with a knife as opposed to scooping the measuring cup into the ingredient.
• I test and develop recipes using a standard electric oven and standard gas stovetop. Be aware that if you use an electric stovetop or convection oven, your bake times will be different.
• When recipes call for kosher salt, I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt.

Food safety

Finally, don't forget to keep these food safety tips in mind when making this recipe.

• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
• Never leave cooking food unattended
• Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

See more guidelines at USDA.gov.