Style

Celebrate the Day of the Dead with These Inspired Cocktails

Toast loved ones who have passed and honor the vibrant Mexican holiday while sipping on one of these festive libations

October 29, 2026

Glass of tequila cocktail with orange peel garnish next to a bottle of Lalo tequila on a dark textured surface. — Midnight Margarita. Photo: Courtesy of LALO

The Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos, is a festive Mexican holiday that welcomes back the spirits of departed loved ones. While preparation for the multi-day celebration typically kicks off on October 27, the official holiday begins at midnight on the 31st, with families putting the finishing touches on their ofrendas with food, photos, marigolds, and more. Today’s Day of the Dead festivities include parades and parties with people wearing skull masks and face paint, gathered with families at the gravesites of loved ones.

Below, find festive cocktail recipes to toast Día de los Muertos celebrations of your own.

1. LALO’s Midnight Margarita

Ingredients:

1.5 oz LALO Tequila

.5 oz Conintreau

.5 oz maple syrup

1 oz freshly squeezed lime juice

1 dash orange bitters (optional)

1 teaspoon activated charcoal

Rim glass with black salt. Add LALO, Cointreau, lime juice, orange bitters, and maple syrup into a cocktail shaker. Open up the capsule and add in charcoal powder to the shaker. Shake and strain into a glass over ice.

Bottle of Don Fulano tequila with a cocktail and sliced citrus fruits on a cloth, wooden shelves in the background. — Paloma. Photo: Courtesy of Don Fulano

2. Don Fulano Paloma

Ingredients:

1.5 oz Don Fulano Reposado

.25 oz lemon

1 oz grapefruit

1 oz orange

.25 oz agave

1.5 oz black tea

Sparkling water

Salt

Grapefruit slide

Prepare the black tea in hot water. Rub grapefruit and salt on one side of the cocktail glass. Add lemon, grapefruit, and orange juices. Pour in Don Fulano Reposado. Add a splash of agave syrup and stir to combine.

Halloween-themed cocktail with marigold garnish, decorated with crow design, set amid pumpkins and caramel apple. — Apple Cider Fizz. Photo: Courtesy of NOLET’s

3. NOLET’s Apple Cider Fizz

Ingredients

2 oz NOLET’s Silver Gin

1 oz apple cider

.5 oz lemon juice

Dash of cinnamon

.25 heavy cream (or substitute with unsweetened almond milk)

1 egg white (or 1.5 oz Aquafaba)

1.5 oz club soda (to top)

Demerara sugar and cinnamon for the rim

Before mixing, prepare the glass by combining 1/4 cup of demerara sugar and 2 tsp. ground cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Moisten the rim of the glass with a wedge of lemon, and dip into sugar mixture, turning to distribute evenly. Combine all ingredients but the club soda to a mixing tin without ice. Shake vigorously for about a minute, add ice, and continue to shake until the outside of the tin frosts up and the liquid inside is cold and frothy. Strain into the sugar-rimmed glass, leaving a little room for soda. Gently pour soda in and spoon remaining froth on top, then garnish with a cinnamon stick.