You're One Ingredient Away From Some Seriously Spooky Black Vodka

October, spooky season, the land of black and orange — Halloween is an opportunity to get wildly creative with otherwise plain, boringly normal foods and drinks. And, there's hardly anything more boring than plain, unflavored vodka — it's basically just water that hates you. So, let's crank vodka up a notch and make it something special by turning it black. This doesn't mean adding any flavor, though, so if you want your black vodka to taste like, say, blackberries, make sure to start with uncolored blackberry vodka.

To turn your vodka black, all you need is some black food coloring in either liquid or gel versions. Liquid is easier to find, but it can separate from the vodka and require remixing. Gel is stronger but can be harder to find since it's usually used for baking. Regardless of which version you use, just take it a drop or two at a time until you get it as black as your ex's heart. If you can't find black dye, you can also use equal amounts of red, green, and blue liquid food coloring. Shake to mix, and enjoy wickedly.

While you can certainly down your black vodka straight — perhaps as part of some witch's ritual — it's more fun to use it in spooky shots. For one Halloween shot inspired by a tequila sunrise, try loosely mixing a tiny splash of grenadine syrup with orange juice so the red of the syrup is still streaking through the juice. Then, very carefully and slowly layer the other half of the shot glass with your black vodka on top. If you don't care for layering, you can make a pretty, simple shot of half black vodka and half Goldschlager. Watch as the little flakes of gold swirl like cat eyes in the inky black.

If you prefer cocktails to shots, you could start with a basic (but awesome-looking) vodka cranberry by splashing your black vodka on top of the juice. This is sometimes called a Black Widow since the red-and-black color scheme looks somewhat like the colors of the titular spider, so complete the drink with a plastic spider ring clipped to the lip of the glass. You can create a similar look by finishing off a Bloody Mary the same way. Lastly, if you're looking to make a spooky punch for your Halloween party, consider supercharging your average citrusy white sangria with a splash of your black vodka on top. Save it as a finisher for each cup once it's poured, though, or the wine and vodka will mix in the bowl over time and just look grey.