|

Halloween Pumpkin Punch

October 23, 2013
Drinks,Recipes

I’m a scary movie junky. One of my all-too-common guilty pleasures is curling up alone on the couch at 3am, eyes-wide-shut, as the words, “Based on true events” slowly scroll across the screen. For me, it’s all about the entertainment. So consequently, it’s no surprise that Halloween is my favorite time of the year. The horror movies, the candy, the costumes, and of course . . . the parties. And what better way to entertain your guests than with a spooky pumpkin punch? Served, naturally, out of a creepy giant steaming pumpkin. Honestly, to die for!!

Halloween Pumpkin Punch // HonestlyYUM

Photography shot with the Canon EOS Rebel SL1 digital SLR camera. Small in size, enormous in performance.

Halloween Pumpkin Punch // HonestlyYUM

Halloween Pumpkin Punch // HonestlyYUM

Halloween Pumpkin Punch // HonestlyYUM

Halloween Pumpkin Punch // HonestlyYUM

Halloween Pumpkin Punch // HonestlyYUM

Halloween Pumpkin Punch // HonestlyYUM

Halloween Pumpkin Punch // HonestlyYUM

Halloween Pumpkin Punch // HonestlyYUM

Halloween Pumpkin Punch // HonestlyYUM

Halloween Pumpkin Punch // HonestlyYUM

Halloween Pumpkin Punch

INGREDIENTS

For the punch

For the spiced syrup

INSTRUCTIONS

For the spiced syrup

  1. Add the spices to a small saucepan over medium heat. Shake the spices back and forth so that they do not burn.
  2. As soon as the spices become toasty and aromatic add the water and sugar. Stir continuously to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a simmer and turn the heat to low. Let simmer for 10 minutes, remove from heat, and strain through a fine mesh strainer.
  3. cool to room temperature before using.

For the punch

  1. In a large bowl, add the spiced rum, orange juice, lemon juice, spiced syrup and pumpkin puree. Stir to combine. 
  2. Once combined, pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a large pitcher and chill until ready to serve.
  3. Meanwhile, place a large bowl into your hollowed pumpkin. Be sure your bowl is safe to handle dry ice. I used a metal bowl. Next, use tongs to fill the bottom of the bowl with dry ice, and cover with a slightly smaller bowl. This bowl will hold your punch. Again, make sure both bowls are safe for dry ice. Certain materials will shatter when exposed to dry ice.
  4. Pour the mixture into the punchbowl. Add the sparkling water and stir to combine.
  5. Now for the fun part. Carefully pour hot water into the bottom bowl so that it contacts the dry ice, thus activating the vapors.
  6. Guests can ladle the punch into their glasses and garnish with a cinnamon stick. Remember to give it a stir as you serve, as the ingredients will naturally separate over time.

NOTES

The length of time the smoky effect will last depends on how much dry ice you use, how hot the water is, and consequently how quickly the ice melts. To keep the effect going you will need to replenish the dry ice as it melts.

(images by HonestlyYUM)

Conversation

I’m looking for some dry Ice … Is that something you guys can sell.

Shilpa

Recipe makes 1/2 cup simple syrup but calls for a cup? Just want to make sure this is correct!

This looks beautiful. Will be making this for our office party and we don’t have a way to make the syrup. Is there an alternative to the syrup? Or a store bought one that we could use instead?

If I were to add alcohol to this recipe, which kind and how much would go in? I’d like to experiment, but I’m kind of worried that I’d mess up with the type of alcohol or put too much in. haha

Thanks! 🙂

Please can you send me a price and details how to pay, hosting a Halloween party we have 7 pumpkins and two cauldrons thank you

How many servings do you think this recipe provides? It looks great! Can’t wait to try it out!

Hi I’m looking for dryice for my halloween party on the 29th oct can u help please? It will b 4 cauldrons and pumpkins.please give me a pricertain to thank u

Hello
I’d like to buy some dry ice for a Halloween party. We only need it for a small area, what are your prices?
Thanks
Claire.

Could i have a quote on the 10kg dry ice. Im currently hosting a halloween party and would like some to put in a punch. How to i store the dry ice and how long would it last thanks

We are a dry ice manufacturing company, supplying high quality food grade ice.
We supply the pellets in 9mm food grade dry ice 10 kg packs for delivery next day to all uk destinations.

Call us direct on 01442 834 200 or email us on sales@icesupply.co.uk

If you have any questions as regards to your requirements just let us know happy halloween !!!!!!!

Love this idea, but where can I get dry ice?

Hi Edith – thanks for stopping by the site! I’d just do a Google search for dry ice in your area. I live in Berkeley, CA, and I get mine from a place called Alliance gas and welding supply. Make sure you bring a cooler with you to pickup!

Hey! Love everything about this post! I read through most of the posts but didn’t see this question, so I apologize if this has already been asked, but I have quite a few pregnant friends who obviously can’t drink. What would you suggest I substitute the rum for? Would it be possible to use a juice of some sort?

Few questions: in US, where can I purchase dry ice? How many servings does this make? How can I know if bowls are dry ice safe? Hosting big Halloween party and I want to make this….safely!

We are a dry ice manufacturing company, supplying high quality food grade ice. We sell dry ice cocktail stirrers that can be placed directly into your beverage allowing a safe drinking experience. The dry ice pellet is locked into the dry ice stirrer compartment creating a barrier between the dry ice and the drinker. For more information on Where to buy dry ice, please visit our website or call us on 0844 241 3061, our knowledgeable team will be happy to answer any of your questions #WhereToBuyDryIce #BuyDryIce #DryIce #DryIceSuppliers #DryIceManufacturers

This is a very informative and Useful post and help me out to get all valuable information regarding this topic. Great work

I requested the recipe for the spiced syrup that is supposed to be “below and part of another recipe”. You responded that it is listed below, but the recipe is still not listed below–PLEASE HELP.
Thank you.
Kathy

Amazing things here. I amm very satisfiedd
tto look your post. Thank you a lot and I aam looking forwsrd to contact
you. Will you kindly drop me a e-mail?

Hi there to all, the contents present at this web page are really remarkable for people experience, well, kesep
uup the good work fellows.

Hello! I could have sworn I’ve visited this web site before
but after looking at a feew of the articles I realized it’s new to me.
Anyhow, I’m definitely happy I found it andd I’ll be
book-marking it and checking back regularly!

Hello There. I found your blog using msn. This is a very well written article.
I will be sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your useful information. Thanks for the post.

I will definitely return.

Hmm is anyone else experiencing problems with the images on this blog loading?

I’m trying to find out if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

During my college days I made a Halloween punch with this same spooky effect. I used a block of dry ice and added it directly to the punch and punch bowl. That was the easy part. The best part is that the dry ice made the punch bubbly and carbonated.

Next weekend me and a couple of friends are watching Orange is the New Black. I thought this pumpkin punch would be a good idea to serve.

This looks so creative! I love the way you served it 🙂 I wonder where I could get some dry ice myself 😛

Thanks MoonLight! I’d recommend looking up where to find dry ice in your neighborhood. Never know when you’ll need to serve an eery-looking punch recipe for a crowd 😉

I’m planning to make this for my birthday party since I decided to make it Halloween themed.
I have a question however.
I have a lot of things I need to get done for that day so I like to prepare as much as possible.
Would it be possible for me to make the syrup required for this drink and put it into a jar and then the fridge, and then take it out 2-3 days later when I need to mix it with the punch?

And lastly, does it HAVE to be dark spiced rum? I bought some Captain Morgan golden spiced rum.

Hi Tias, yes you can certainly make the syrup 2-3 days early and store it in the fridge. Yes, Captain Morgan will work fine. I think Captain Morgan may have a slightly lower alcohol percentage, but it should still taste the same. One good thing about preparing the punch ahead of time is you can taste test and adjust the ingredients accordingly. For example, if you want more rum flavor, add more alcohol. Like it sweeter? More syrup, and so on and so forth. Just remember the sparkling water that you add at the last minute is used not only for a little carbonation, but also to mimic the dilution effect that you’d normally get from shaking or pouring over ice, therefore changing the flavor, so take into account if tasting ahead of time.

Your images of this halloween punch are just stunning! Got to be the most beautiful images – wow! Love the effect with the dry ice.

This looks incrdibly cool! Wonderful photography too – wow.
A question: if you wanted the smokey effect to last for three hours, how much dry ice would you have used for this pumpkin? I know it depends on the water temperature etc, but as I simply have no clue at all, I would like to ask you for your experience with it. Thanks a bunch!

Thanks Sabine! 3 hours of smokiness will take quite a bit of dry ice. I’ve seen a few resources suggest that 7 pounds of dry ice will smoke for about 30 minutes. While it’s rather inexpensive (7 lbs was ~ $10) that’s still a lot of dry ice to purchase. My pumpkin punchbowl didn’t have much room for a lot of dry ice, certainly not a full 7 pounds at once. So to keep the smokey effect going I had to remove the bowl and refill the ice. Let me know if you have any other questions. I hope that helps.

Nice blog here! Also your web site loads up very fast! What host are you using?
Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my web site loaded up as fast as
yours lol

I have never been a truly scary movie lover but I do enjoy a good thriller, or a Hitchcock classic like ‘The Birds’, but as I get older I have noticed that I don’t mind that spine tingling fright so much anymore. Perhaps I’ll have to invite some friends over to share this punch and some spooky movies 🙂

I am such a wimp when it comes to scary movies, but this punch!? Hit me with it all night long! A must make for my Halloween party! Wish you guys could attend!!!

I like scary movies once a year…and that time is totally here!! This punch is such a fun drink Todd! Great holiday creation 🙂

Spine-tingling killer punch! And, equally killer photography. I am with you, Todd…October and Halloween is all about spook and zombie film fests. It’s Vincent Price month (!) at TCM. He’s my all-time favorite…could gaze at him and listen to his voice and laughter forever. I am in complete delirium over this punch of yours and must make it for Halloween. Thanks for this fabulous Halloween post!

Vincent Price…soooo classic!!! Definitely DVRing immediately. Thank you so much Stacy, you are so sweet. I feel so lucky that talented people like you are checking out my work 🙂

“To die for” teehee 🙂 This is really impressive! We’re not throwing a Halloween party this year but we usually do…pinning for next year.

Thanks Sarah! Same here.’It was a scary movie and stay at home with the pup kinda night.

I love your pictures and I love this punch and I love how festive and spooky it is! I love how it’s just turned into a mad scientist lab here. I love alot of things about this post.. awesome job!

This is a fantastic looking halloween punch! Great idea and thanks for sharing!

This looks so cool and awesome! I am completely the opposite. I hate scary movies! I won’t even want to take a glimpse, because I don’t want to be imagining crazy things in the middle of the night. But I do really like your punch idea! It would be great for a party.

Thanks Lokness. That’s so nice of you to say. Though, you’re definitely missing the boat when it comes to the scary movies. I’m telling ya…

I love Halloween too and can i come to your party please 😛 , if you are serving this punch?

Thanks Dixya!! If I had a party, you’d definitely be invited. Instead I stayed at home and stayed up late watching scary movies with my dog Grizzly, and hoarding candy. Buahahaha!

This looks too awesome! I wish I knew where to get some dry ice so I can play with it this halloween. I guess I’ll just have to stick to the drink instead 😀

Thank you Rochelle. Yep, you can totally just make the cocktail, but just be sure to serve it over ice to chill if you’re not using dry ice.

This. Is. Awesome. I love the dry ice idea- such a festive way to serve punch at a Halloween party! We are having a Halloween party this weekend and I just might have to do this…if I can track down some dry ice, that is.

Thank you Rachael 🙂 I hope you had a scare-ific (you see what I did there?) Halloween party!

punches are all the rage these days! this one is fantastic – i can imagine it tastes like a boozy-pumpkin pie :D. it looks really great!

Thanks Jessica! It’s like a boozy pumpkin pie, but lightened up with a little orange and bubbly water.

Oh my gosh, this would be SUCH a hit at any Halloween party. The pumpkin is scary and impressive and the punch sounds incredibly delicious! Did you carve the pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern as well? Having dry ice smoke pour out a ghoulish face would be so over the top…once again, a masterpiece Todd! Great post!

Yet another thing we share a similar taste for: scary stuff! I will literally watch a based-on-true-events movie and pause it during the lulls so I can read the wikipedia account of the real-life happenings. (Have you watched any episodes of Celebrity Ghost Stories? There’s an entire one devoted to Loretta Lynn that’s really enthralling. Also an ep where Melissa George talks about filming The Amityville Horror that’s pretty crazy.)

Whoa, what happened. I was so excited when I saw the pumpkin billowing dry ice-ness, and then my train of thought got completely derailed by the topic of watching creepy shows/movies. (: Anyway, I love the idea of a pumpkin punch (and once again, rum FTW!). And the dry ice just makes it look ridiculously badass. So awesome!

That is so awesome Carey. I could have guessed you were a scary movie junkie! Amityville is an all-time fave. Have you seen The Conjuring yet? Just came out this summer, and it involves Ed and Lorraine Warren who were also the involved in the Amityville Horror. Oh boy, now here I am reading about paranormal events on Wikipedia. Thanks so much for the sweet response. Hope you had a spooky Halloween back east! Rum, FTW 🙂

Leave a Reply

Link Love