Name: Purple People Eater Cocktail
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: Purple sanding sugar, plus a lime wedge for the rim; 1 ½ ounces vodka; 1 ounce blue curacao; 1 ounce sweet and sour mix; 1 ounce cranberry juice; 1 ounce grenadine syrup; 1 ½ cups ice

Jump to Recipe

When you’re looking for a fun, colorful, and boozy Halloween drink to serve, you’ll want to make this spooky Purple People Eater Cocktail. It’s super simple to make and you can make it even more festive by rimming the cocktail glass with purple sanding sugar and adding creepy garnishes, too!

This Purple People Eater Cocktail recipe will give you a sweet and fruity beverage that can easily be made as a single drink or even in batch form for your Halloween party. It’s an eye-catching cocktail that’s always a hit with its mysterious purple hue and delicious taste.

Ingredients Needed

Purple Sanding Sugar – to rim the glass with.
Vodka – provides the booze for the drink. I use unflavored.
Blue Curacao – a bitter-sweet orange-flavored liqueur with a blue hue.
Sweet And Sour Mix – to give the cocktail a sweet and tart punch of flavor.
Cranberry Juice – provides a tart and fruity flavor.
Grenadine Syrup – a non-alcoholic red syrup and flavoring made from pomegranates.
Ice – to keep the cocktail cold.

How To Make Purple People Eater Cocktail

This is a summary of the steps. For full instructions, please see the recipe card down below.

STEP 1: Rim the glass by running a lime wedge around the edge of the glass and then dipping it in a saucer of purple sanding sugar.
STEP 2: To a cocktail shaker, add the ice, vodka, blue curacao, sweet and sour mix, cranberry juice, and grenadine. Shake well to combine and chill.
STEP 3: Pour into the prepared glass and garnish with a festive straw or plastic skeleton hand.

Do I Add Food Coloring To Make The Drink Turn Purple?

Good news – no, you don’t need to add food coloring! If you remember the basics of color combinations to make a new shade, you know that red and blue make purple. The blue curacao, which is blue, and the red grenadine syrup, as well as the red of the cranberry juice, all help to turn the drink purple on its own!

What Type Of Vodka Should I Use?

I use un-flavored vodka since this cocktail is already full of so many fruity and citrus flavors. Use your favorite brand of vodka.

What Is Blue Curacao?

Blue Curaçao is a flavored liqueur made from the peels of bitter oranges. It’s sweetened with sugar so that the result is a tart and citrus flavor. The blue hue is added with food coloring mixed into the final product.

What Is Grenadine Syrup?

Grenadine is a non-alcoholic sweet syrup that’s commonly added to drinks to give them a fruity flavor as well as to add a red hue to the drink. Grenadine is made from sugar and pomegranate juice, so the color is natural.

Variations For Garnishes

Since the flavors in this cocktail range from orange to lemon to lime as well as cranberry and pomegranate, you can always add a wedge or slice of orange, lemon, or lime to the rim or floating on the drink itself. You could also garnish with a few fresh cranberries or pomegranate arils. For fun non-edible garnishes, skeleton hands are great.

Can I Make This In Batch Form?

Absolutely. The recipe as written is for one drink, so just multiply all the ingredients by how many you will be serving. Mix it in a pitcher, without the ice, and store it in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Just before serving rim the glasses with the purple sanding sugar. Add ice cubes in each glass before pouring in the Purple People Eater Cocktail.

Can I Make This Into A Mocktail?

I suggest trying my Halloween Purple Pumpkin Eater Punch for a family and kid-friendly grape-flavored drink that’s fun and fizzy and perfect for parties!

Storage

This drink is best made and served immediately. For a make-ahead batch cocktail, store it in the refrigerator until ready to serve. See the batch section above for all the details on how to make, store, and assemble in batch form.

More Fun Cocktail Recipe

Halloween Purple Pumpkin Eater Punch
Snowflake Cocktail
Festive Birthday Cake Martini
Grinch Float
Berry Firecracker Drink
King Cake Rum Shake

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Serves 1

Purple People Eater Cocktail

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

When you're looking for a fun, colorful, and boozy Halloween drink to serve, you'll want to make this spooky Purple People Eater Cocktail. It's super simple to make and you can make it even more festive by rimming the cocktail glass with purple sanding sugar and adding creepy garnishes, too!

Ingredients

Purple sanding sugar, plus a lime wedge for the rim
1 ½ ounces vodka
1 ounce blue curacao
1 ounce sweet and sour mix
1 ounce cranberry juice
1 ounce grenadine syrup
1 ½ cups ice

Instructions

Gather the ingredients.
To rim the glass, add a shallow layer of the purple sanding sugar and a saucer. Run a lime wedge around the edge of the glass, and dip it into the sugar.
To a cocktail glass, add ice, vodka, blue curacao, sweet and sour mix, cranberry juice, and grenadine. Shake well to combine and chill.
Pour into the prepared glass.
Enjoy!