Hocus Pocus Cocktail (Halloween Cocktail Recipe)

A deliciously striking hocus pocus cocktail to celebrate the essence of Halloween! This hauntingly beautiful green Halloween cocktail is a twist on a margarita / yellow jacket cocktail.

With herby, floral flavors and a touch of sourness, this is exactly what the Sanderson sisters were concocting as their glowy green hocus pocus witches brew!

Why you will love this Halloween cocktail!

• This tequila-based Halloween cocktail is so easy to make, and you can also make it as a punch to serve a crowd! Perfect for a Halloween party.

• I share many substitutions that can replace the green chartreuse, which still guarantees the same beautiful and delicious cocktail!

• Chartreuse is difficult to replicate, but these substitutions still add a lovely herby flavor to this hocus pocus drink.

• Besides, after much investigation and testing, I’ve recreated the precise recipe that the Sanderson sisters used for their life potion and that is this hocus pocus cocktail, right down to that ethereal green color! 🙂

Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year! Well, technically it’s not a holiday, and I’m not sure why not! I would totally petition to make November 1^st a national holiday, so that both kids and adults can recover from a night of trick or treating and Halloween parties!

Halloween to me, isn’t complete without watching a classic Halloween movie, and that includes a re-run of hocus pocus. A night of playing the hocus pocus drinking game with lots of leftover candy and fun cocktails sounds like the perfect Halloween night to me!

Which means Halloween cocktails are as integral to the whole day as trick or treating for me. From my popular Witch’s Heart cocktail to the Unicorn blood cocktail, the Pheonix cocktail, and the Flaming dragon’s blood cocktail, I love the fun and theatrics that these easy Halloween cocktails add to any Halloween party!

Add this smooth, refreshing hocus pocus themed cocktail to the drinking game roster, because I know everyone will want seconds of this magical life potion cocktail! But make sure not to go overboard with the drinking though, because you don’t want to run amok (amok amok amok amok!).

What makes a great hocus pocus cocktail?

• A cocktail that is easy to make as a single drink OR as a punch so you can make large batches for crowds and parties.

• But most of all, a delicious cocktail that tastes even better than it looks and your guests would keep going back for seconds (and thirds).

• A nuanced cocktail that isn’t overly sweet, with lots of depth of flavor.

• And of course, flavors that are reminiscent of what the witch sisters would brew – herbaceous, floral, a little spicy, a little sweet, and a little salty. After all, the Sanderson sisters themselves are spicy, sweet, and salty!

• This hocus pocus cocktail, which is a fusion of a yellow jacket and a margarita, ticks all of these boxes!

Ingredients to make this Halloween cocktail

• Jalapeno infused tequila (optional)

  • Blanco tequila
  • Jalapeno
• St Germain liqueur (elderflower liqueur)
• Lime juice
• Green chartreuse or yellow chartreuse
• Blue curacao
• Chili salt (to rim the cocktail glasses)

I’m using Sal de Chapulin to rim the glasses here. This is a specialty salt that’s made with sea salt, chili peppers, and grasshoppers! I mean… wouldn’t the witch sisters use grasshoppers in their drinks? Of course, they would. Eye of newt is harder to source, so grasshoppers it is.

But you can absolutely use grasshoppers-less salt too. Just regular sea salt or spiced salt would work just as well.

If you choose not to infuse tequila with jalapeno, then you can use reposado tequila or mezcal for a smokier depth of flavor in your hocus pocus cocktail.

Ingredient substitutions 

Substitution for chartreuse 

If you can’t find green or yellow chartreuse, then you could make your own. However, this requires a ton of spices, since chartreuse is made with no less than 31 spices and herbs! Trust me, one taste of it, and you’ll know why!

Other options

• Yellow chartreuse – the best substitute
• Genepi liqueur – the next best substitute
• Strega
• Faccia Bruto Centerbe

All these options can be used, BUT it does require some adjustments as the flavor profile and sweetness levels can be a little different. 

Another option is to substitute the green chartreuse with spice and herb infused gin.

To do this, you can infuse a botanical gin with the following spices and herbs, 

• Rosemary
• Sage
• Lemon balm
• Thyme
• Cardamom
• Cinnamon
• Lemon and orange peel
• Black pepper

With this option you may need to add a little extra simple syrup.

Substitutions for St Germain liqueur

St Germain liqueur is easy to find, but can be expensive. 

A good substitute is elderflower cordial and vodka.

Mix vodka and the elderflower cordial at a 2 : 1 ratio to get St Germain liqueur. Add more cordial if you want it sweeter.

How to make the Hocus Pocus Cocktail

Making the jalapeno infused tequila

The first step is to infuse the tequila, if you choose to. This is an optional step. Instead of jalapeno infused tequila, you can use reposado tequila or mezcal. 

If all you have is blanco or gold tequila, you can use that instead too.

You can infuse the tequila in the fridge if you have about a week (minimum 4 days). Place the tequila and the jalapeno in a jar. Place the jar lid (making sure it’s air-tight) and let it sit at room temperature or in the fridge for at least a week. You can taste is after about 4-5 days, and decide how much longer you would like to keep it. 

If you’re pressed for time, then this infusion time can be drastically shortened (just 2 – 3 hours) with the help of a sous vide. To do this, place the tequila and jalapeno in a large freezer ziploc bag, or a ball mason jar or weck jar.

Using the water displacement method, seal the bag while making sure the ingredients are fully submerged in the liquid. You can also place the jar in the water as well, but you have to make sure the jar is fully submerged in the water. 

Heat the sous vide water to 135 F. This is because I don’t want the jalapeno to “cook” too much. When the water comes up to temperature, let the tequila infuse for 2 – 3 hours. 

Then let the contents cool to room temperature, out of the water, and then let it chill in the fridge until cold. 

Strain the tequila and discard the jalapeno. Keep the tequila in an airtight jar and in the fridge, and use as needed. 

If you’re using the infused gin instead of chartreuse, you can infuse the gin the same way as the the jalapeno infused tequila. 

To assemble the cocktail

Rim the serving glasses with lime wedges and dip the rims in salt. 

Place all the ingredients, except for the blue curacao, in a shaker. This includes the infused tequila, elderflower liqueur (st germain), green chartreuse, lime juice, and simple syrup. 

Shake or stir all the ingredients with a generous amount of ice. 

Add just a little bit of the blue curacao to turn the cocktail green. How much you add will depend on the color of the cocktail. 

If the cocktail is more yellow, you may need to add more blue curacao, but if there is already a tinge of green, then you only need to add a little. 

Stir again to mix, and strain into serving glasses. 

Notes on making ingredient substitutions

If you’re substituting the green chartreuse or the elderflower liqueur, make sure to make a single cocktail first so that you know how to adjust the substitutions to get the best tasting cocktail. You may need to adjust the amount of simple syrup you add, or the amount of the substitutions. 

For dramatic effect, add dry ice to make the hocus pocus cocktail bubble and smoke just like the witches’ life potion!

But remember to only add the smallest amount of food-grade dry ice, and wait until it has completely evaporated before consuming the drink. 

How to make Hocus Pocus punch (for a crowd)

This is so easy! 

You can use reposado tequila instead of infusing the tequila with jalapenos to make it easier for you. Or you could make a bigger batch of jalapeno tequila too.

Then multiply the amounts for however many drinks you want to make, and mix it all in a large jug. 

Add the blue curacao last to get the green color you desire. 

Adjust the sweetness with simple syrup. 

Let the drink chill in the fridge until you need it.

Serve in a large bowl, and place cups that have been rimmed with a little salt next to the punch bowl. 

Other variations

This is a fusion between a yellow jacket and margarita! But you can also make it into a refresher cocktail too.

How to make a Hocus Pocus Fizz Cocktail 

Instead of margarita glasses, serve this in a highball glass with some ice. 

Top the drink with some lime flavored sparkling water to add a little fizz to the drink (about 3 fl oz per drink). The same can be done for the hocus pocus punch drink as well. 

Once you have added the cocktail to the large bowl, add lime sparkling water to make it into a fizz cocktail punch.

This is going to be the most sophisticated, smooth, and delicious hocus pocus witches brew cocktail that you’ve ever had! It’s perfect for Halloween-loving adults looking for a flavorful Halloween cocktail that isn’t sickly sweet and has great depth of flavor.

So come and confabulate with your friends this Halloween with this smooth, herbaceous, sweet, and salty cocktail. You’ll make the Sanderson sisters very happy!