Other than New Year's Eve, Halloween is one of the most anticipated (and highly profitable, from the bar industry's perspective) reasons to party here in NYC. Retail-wise, Americans are expected to spend $5.8 billion on Halloween, so we can only guess how much of that will translate into alcoholic beverage sales. Still hunting for Halloween plans that don't involve staying home and handing out candy or staggering to dive bars with zombies? Check out these "spirited" events:
- Time Out New York's Dining & Libation Society presents All Hallow's Eve from 6 to 9 p.m. tonight, Oct. 26, at Macao Trading Co. Master mixologist Dushan Zaric will mix unlimited Van Gogh Vodka cocktails all night while guests indulge in chef Josh Blakely's Chinese-Portuguese snacks. And with party impresario Adam Aleksander in charge of transforming the space into an enchanted forest, you can expect all kinds wildlife. Tickets are $35.
- From 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Sat. Oct. 30 at the Green Building in Brooklyn, swing into the spooky holiday with Michael Arenella & His Dreamland Orchestra's Halloween Eve Masquerade. Loungerati's Fredo Ceraso will be whipping up Hendrick's Gin and Prohibition Vodka cocktails including Satan's Whiskers, Corpse Reviver No. 2, and his own Cyanide Gimlet (vodka, lime, orgeat, and Cynar). Tickets are $20 in advance; $25 at the door.
- Also on Sat. Oct. 30, join me at Avenue C's The Summit Bar for a "Midnight Spirits" gathering, with bowls of fall-flavored punch priced at half-off ($6 each). DJ Nounz NYC will be behind the decks, and there will be a few surprise treats courtesy of The Dizzy Fizz. RSVP to hamid@thesummitbar.net to ensure entry.
- On the night of Halloween, Oct. 31, Adam Aleksander has more tricks up his sleeve with a 1960's-themed Monster Mash Dance and Supper Club. A school bus will pick up guests from Macao Trading Co. and take them to an abandoned school house in Brooklyn. In addition to retro dance music and a spooky cast of characters, expect a four-course feast of organs, eyeballs and brains paired with smoking liquid nitrogen cocktails by Mayahuel's Mayur Subbarao. Tickets are $120 and available here.
- And let's not forget about Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, on Nov. 1 and 2. As part of a specal menu, all three NYC locations of Mercadito are offering La Muerte, a prickly pear margarita with ancho chile salt, for $12 each.
