Drink Stations are one of my favorite things to design for grown-up parties.

They’re fun for kids, too, but for grown-ups looking to have a good time… they’re kind of up there with candy buffet status! ;)

Read on to learn how to recreate this Witch-Inspired Signature Drink Station from my Modern Witch Halloween Party + some helpful tips for drink stations in general.

1. Simplify to Amplify

One common challenge with creating themed drinks stations is keeping them looking stylish and decorated while accommodating a wide variety of bottled spirits, mixers, bar tools, and garnishes.

The solution is simple: DON’T!

I like to focus on just a few themed Signature Drinks for the “styled” station, then set other party staples like beer, wine, and popular/essential mixers and spirits in a different area.

This also prevents your central drink station from feeling super cluttered. You want to make sure it’s easy for your guests to SEE and enjoy all the fun drink options you’ve prepared!

2. Streamline the Colors

It’s difficult to make things look “pulled together” when your liquor and mixer bottles have various packaging design styles and colors.

Instead, transfer your liquids to clear decanters and carafes. Also, choose mixers with colors that match your party palette.

Ta-da! Things are starting to look streamlined already.

If you don’t have enough decanters, you can also remove labels from your bottles by soaking them in hot, soapy water and/or using an adhesive remover like Goo Gone.

3. Put a (Themed!) Label On It

Now that the bottles are off the table, you’ll need a new way to tell your guests what’s what.

Printable labels are always my go-to solution. They’re functional AND stylish when you use a great design.

All the labels used in this drink station are included in my Modern Witch Printables and are also available a la carte.

4. Creative Drink Names

One surefire way to make party guests smile is to give your featured drinks clever names that coordinate with the party theme. No matter how simple the drinks are, this instantly makes them feel fun & celebratory!

You can use a play on words, the flavor as inspiration, etc.

For example, since this was a witch-themed party and one of our drinks included a Passionfruit Mixer, I named that drink the “Passionate Witch”.

5. Keep the Recipes Simple

This rule can vary based on the occasion and the type of crowd you’re entertaining, but for a Halloween party, I love the idea of keeping the drinks easy. There’s usually a lot going on already with the costumes, games, treats, etc!

We used cocktail mixers for this Modern Witch drink station to keep things SUPER easy and stress-free.

Each signature drink option featured one spirit + one flavored mixer. I also recommended an easy “creepy garnish” pairing with each drink.

The “Pick Your Potion” signature drink menu is EDITABLE and included in my Modern Witch printable collection.

Here’s a closer look at the signature cocktails…

The “Passionate Witch”

Cinnamon Whiskey + Master of Mixes Passionfruit Mixer
Garnish: “witch hair” (rosemary sprig) + black sugar

The “Black Magic Margarita”

Tequila + Master of Mixes Margarita Mixer
Garnish: “half moon” (blood orange wheel) + “leech” (moon drop grape or witch finger grape) + black salt

The “Pina Ghoulada”

White Rum + Master of Mixes Pina Colada Mixer
Garnish: “speared eyeball”

6. Creative Garnishes

Cocktail garnishes are a great way to make any drink look extra special.

I wanted a bit of an “ew!” factor for this station – while still keeping things simple and color-coordinating. We ended up serving:

• Leeches (moon drop grapes)
• Half Moons (blood orange wheels cut in half)
• Witch Hair (rosemary sprigs)
• Speared Eyeballs (canned lychee fruit*, strawberry jam, and a blueberry)

*Canned lychee fruit is a specialty item, but we’ve found it at several standard grocery store chains. It usually costs around $3 per can.

We also put a super fun garnish into our “Spooky Sangria”… whole apples carved to look like jack-o-lanterns! The apples are cut flat on the back side to help keep the faces sitting upright.

“Spooky Sangria”

Red Wine + Master of Mixes Red Sangria
Garnish: “jack-o-lantern” apples, sliced apples, blackberries, blueberries, and blood oranges

Although the sangria was served in a separate area of the party and not on the central drink station, I still wanted to mention it here because of the fun garnishes. It makes a really fun addition to ANY adult Halloween celebration!

7. Themed Decor & Details

In addition to the labels on the decanters, I decked them out with a few plastic spiders and snakes!

Hot glue typically peels off glass pretty easily when dry, so I use it to attach temporary accents like these quite a bit.

I usually pick some sort of creative “centerpiece” to act as the focal point of my drink stations as well.

In this case, it was a “witch cauldron” with “brew bubbles” floating above.

The witch cauldron was actually a big cauldron-shaped ice bucket, and the “bubbles” were small balloons (black, white, and marbled green) suspended from fishing wire.

Bold black-and-white printables were my other main “decorative accent” for this station, and they helped pull everything together!

The centerpiece cauldron was flanked by framed 8×10 signs (DRINKS + the “Pick Your Potion” drink menu).  Both signs matched the decanter labels… and the rest of the printables throughout the party, of course!

More “Modern Witch” Ideas

Wanna see more inspiration like this? Click the links below to check out other ideas (and tips on how to recreate them!) from the same party:

• A Modern Witch Halloween Party (general overview)
• Witch’s Brew Sour Apple Punch (Kids Drink Station)
• “Resting Witch Face” Dress Up Station
• “Sweets Spell” Halloween Dessert Station
• Kids Craft Idea: Halloween Glitter Globes