So candy vodka is nothing new. Well, at least Skittle vodka. Done and overdone a million times.
I have not seen, however, too many other versions out there. I like a good challenge, so I chose four different candies. I also went with the green candy in accordance with the upcoming Saint Patrick’s day. You can select whatever color or flavor you like, however.
This is also in reaction to my beer jello shots. Those are a considerably more “manly” drink.
Find the recipe here.
The candy vodka could (depending on how much candy you use) be considered a more “girly” drink.
So which one are you?
Courtsey of http://www.spiritsurfers.net/monastery
GAH! Actually… that is a pretty good looking hermaphrodite. Err, I mean, not really.
But seriously, that guy has better legs than me. I need to work out. How are they so shiny?
I don’t mean to label. I just see candy vodka inhabiting shot glasses in the custody of woo girls.
Ah… we all know a woo girl.
Enough of this gender pigeonholing. I would easily sit there and alternate between beer jello shots and candy vodka. I certainly know a lady or two who prefers beer. I absolutely have seen men order a lemon drop or sex on the beach. For themselves.
Regardless of your taste, these candy shots can be fine-tuned to be just right for you. Whether you want just a light hint of candy goodness to be mixed in with soda water, or a liquor sweetened up enough for straight shots, it can be done.
Your welcome.
Here’s What You Need For Your Candy Vodka,
- candy (Are you surprised? Please do not be perplexed by this.)
- vodka
- jars or containers (depending on how much candy you try to add in, the size of the container will differ)
- cheese cloth (they sell this in the grocery store with all of the cooking tools)
- a sieve or strainer of some sort
The reason I do not list an amount is that this will depend on how you want to fine-tune yours. Read on to decide.
I began by choosing my candy.
Lime green Sour Patch Kids. I purchase four 14 oz bags, generating 2 heaping cups.
Juicy pear Jelly Bellies. I purchased these at a candy store (by weight). I bought 2 1/2 cups worth.
Green apple Laffy Taffy. I grabbed 4 bags, resulting in 36 green ones.
Watermelon Air Heads. Four bags only produced 26 watermelon airheads. Cheap bastards.
The Air Heads, Laffy Taffy, and Sour Patch Kids come in a bag with mixed flavors. I picked out my colors and stored the rest of the candy for future vodka goodness. If you are complaining about leftover candy that will go unused, I will reach through the screen and bitch slap you (but not too hard because I want you to ship the rest to me).
The Air Heads and Laffy Taffy have a lighter flavor, so keep this in mind. If you want to cut out the bite of the liquor, you may need more candy than I used or better vodka. The pear Jelly Belly was the thickest and sweetest,so you could add less than 2 1/2 cups. The Sour Patch Kids were sweet but not super thick.
Another thing to consider is your vodka. I used A LOT of candy. Probably part of the reason is that I purchased cheap vodka.
These are not full bottles. I spotted this size behind the liquor store counter. They are 375 ml and cost me $8.00 each. The price will vary based on where you live. My belief is that the liquor in Boston area is pricier in comparison to the US average.
So if you don’t want the liquor to taste harsh or are short on time go with a very good quality vodka. It will taste better.
I chose watermelon, lime, pear, and green apple flavored vodkas.
Before I show you how to infuse, I will explain how it works.
For the person who wants to infuse their vodka as quickly as possible, you will need to use
A LOT OF CANDY+ MORE SHAKING + GOOD QUALITY VODKA
For those who want a very sweet vodka shot, you will need to use
A LOT OF CANDY+ AS MUCH TIME AS POSSIBLE + MORE SHAKING + GOOD QUALITY VODKA
For someone who has plenty of time to infuse their vodka,
LESS CANDY+ A LOT OF TIME+ OCCASIONAL SHAKING + DOES NOT MATTER THE QUALITY OF VODKA
(You can start with a smaller amount of candy, then taste once it is dissolved and continue to add bit by bit until it reaches your liking)
Obviously the best route is having plenty of time. Unfortunately, most of us are typically short on time. Like me.
So I started with a little less than half of the candy I purchased, allowed it to sit for five days, then dumped the rest in. I was also attempting to make them sweet enough for straight, “girly” shots.
Begin by pouring your vodka into a larger container. Then add the candy in.
The watermelon Air Head looks the ickiest.
As you can see, I chopped up the Air Heads and Laffy Taffy. A pair of clean scissors work better than a knife.
The canning jars were not large enough since I decided a week later to add more candy. I ended up transferring them to large containers.
The resulting colors will not necessarily match the candies. Feel free to label if you think you will be confused.
Every time you walk by the bottles or containers, shake them from time to time. In fact, shake them as much as possible if you want the candy to dissolve quickly.
The Jelly Bellies and Sour Patch Kids were slowest to dissolve, probably due to the getlatin/gummy-like build. I found that shaking them vigorously helped to speed it up.
Based on the vodka I used:
I would say that 2 1/2 ups of Jelly Bellies was slightly too much. The Air Heads needed more candy, and the Laffy Taffy needed more time to dissolve (If you are going for a very sweet shot that you do not taste the vodka.. last year a guy drank straight from the bottle. That is how sweet and infused I like to go). The Sour Patch Kids were just right.
THIS WAS ONE WEEK AND TWO DAYS! If you only want a hint of candy flavor, you only need a day or two.
Once you taste it and it seems ready, you may need to get rid of nasty goop and particles.
Use a strainer or sieve, and cover with a piece of cheese cloth. Place on top of bowl. Pour the vodka in.
As you can see, the Laffy Taffy could use more time to dissolve. There are still chunks of candy.
However you choose to create your candy vodka, the results are phenomenal.
If you like dip the rims of shot glasses in chocolate or light corn syrup, then dip in sprinkles, edible glitter, or luster dust.
You can make these for any time of year, for any occasion. Okay, maybe not a child’s birthday party. That would be awkward.
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41 Responses to CANDY INFUSED VODKA. A Different Flavor, A Different Candy For Every Sweet Tooth.
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how fun, I so can see a million flavors to make!
@ sue, I really had to limit myself but I wanted to buy every candy in the store!
You are a goddess. Will you marry me?
@Michelle, absolutely. As long as the ceremony is on a beach
Hahaha my husband might get upset, but I figure enough of that vodka, he won’t care too much! I’m definitely trying the Sour Patch Kids this afternoon!
This is so GENIUS! Thanks so much for sharing the experiment. I am glad there are still a couple weeks before St. Patty’s Day– I am definitely going to give this a try.
Have you tried to make these into jello shots? Think I could just add unflavored gelatin and follow those instructions? Or use plain vodka and flavored gelatin?
Just curious.
Thanks! These look adorable.
@ alli, maybe next year I will to a jelly version. YOu could do it, but I don’t suggest regular jello unless they are lightly infused. Otherwise it would be way too sweet
These look great-can’t remember where I found you, but looks great! Thanks!
I decided to do this with green and yellow skittles. They are infusing as I speak. Crossing my fingers that they turn out good!!
an altenative to $$$ vodka is this: Activated carbon filters can be used to filter vodka and whiskey of organic impurities which can affect color, taste, and odor. Passing an organically impure vodka through an activated carbon filter at the proper flow rate will result in vodka with an identical alcohol content and significantly increased organic purity, as judged by odor and taste.They tried this on mythbusters and ran cheap vodka through a water charcoal filter like a Brita pitcher. they ran some through one, twice, three, up to 6 times I believe. Then had a vodka distributor come in and try those along with a high end vodka and try to put them in order on how many times they had been filtered. He picked it exactly right. placing the unfiltered cheap vodka as the worst, the once filtered vodka as the second best and so on.
So I believe this will work. Does too! You can use aquarium charcoal also.
Hi, just wondering how much vodka to use per batch. Just the one 350ml bottle per kind?
@Melly, that is what I used. 350 ml. You could use a larger bottle for more, you simply need more candy.
I do a similar blog about infusing vodka with candy at http://CandyBooze.com.
I must ask though, why did you go with preflavoured vodka? I think it goes against the point of infusing it yourself.
@Gord, Wouldn’t that depend on what the point is? Everyone has their own objective when creating something. Mine was to make a shot that not only tasted like candy but that I could drink straight without mixing anything in, and the sting of vodka is too much for me. This was the best route for my point.
Actually – if you use high quality vodka you get rid of the sting of the vodka. I’ve found that it’s only a problem when you go cheap for the alcohol. Alternatively you could also do the old vodka through a brita filter to get some of that bad vodka kick out of the flavor of your infused vodka.
I’ve done quite a few different flavors of candy infused vodka – M&M’s give you an awesomely horrible color with a chocolate flavor.
@Bridget,
That same statement concerning vodka quality is already in the post. I actually do think flavored vodkas are easier to take than regular.
A sign of the Apocalypse: People stating something as subjective as taste to be a fact. sheesh
I made a black vodka with using the black jack sweets and also made a variety of other drinks with jellie babys, fruit salad sweets and many more.
@steven, how cool. We do not have any of those here in the US, but some candies somewhat similar to the jellie babies. I would love to know how your vodkas taste. Cheers!
You’re basically my hero! I’ve been looking into different vodka infusions and for the longest time have only found Skittles as the main ingredient. I also have a grapefruit vodka infusing but it turned out bitter. I’ll call my first attempt a wash and start over. Thanks for the read and ideas!
@Troy,
Have you tried adding sugar to the grapefruit infused vodka? It would cut out the bitterness substantially.
@Jasmin,
I was wondering about that myself and one of my friends suggested it. I’ve been hesitant to doctor it up but since you suggested it too, I’ll give it a whirl!
To sweeten it try a sugar syrup (like used in cocktails) rather than sugar, it gives a better result.
Amazing!!! These look both impressive and delicious!I’m going to pin this so I can come back to it and try it later.
Great post!
I’m the founder/moderator for Punk Domestics (www.punkdomestics.com), a community site for those of use obsessed with, er, interested in DIY food. It’s sort of like Tastespotting, but specific to the niche. I’d love for you to submit this to the site. Good stuff!
@sean, I’ll make sure to stop by!
I tried infusing butterscotch drops in 40% alcohol, took about a week to disolve, now it separates in the bottle, tastes pretty good, (after shaking) and has a kick like a wild donkey
@Jester, I have never thought to try butterscotch. You genius, you.
Love this! I tried it and it turned out wonderful! I now plan on going to a candy store just to find more goodies to try this with. Here is one that is sure to please: 10 (or to your taste) Werthers candies (or similar flavoured candy) + 375ml whiskey (Wiser’s works well, so does Gibsons). Leave it for a few days to dissove, the result will be a very tasty whisky. ;-D
@TheJem87, sounds like my kind of combination. Glad you approve.
After all of the filtering, how much percentage of alcohol do you estimate there is left??
@alicia, it depends on how much you start with, how long you infuse, and how much candy is added. I would say I ended up with 75-85% of the alcohol. I infused mine for quite some time.
Just finished filling my jars! Can’t wait! Hopefully they’ll be ready by St.Patty’s day. Thanks for sharing.
Quick question, can you add food coloring? I’d like my watermelon flavor to be a bit more red.
@lyndi, that should work. If your vodka is already a color from the candy and you mix red in keep in mind the result won’t be red nuts combination of two colors. If it is clear then you should be all set.
Interesting idea, reminds me of way back when we dropped watermelon jolly ranchers into zima. Bet this tastes better though lol
@Sarah,
Holy crap ZIMA!! You are epic.
love it!!! i have just finished with a batch of infused vodkas using black jacks,pear drops,fruit salads,watermelon jellies sour bottles and aniseed twists(seperately of course x) they are all great as these were only for testing out flavours i used cheap vodka but once i have picked my fave im going to make a huge batch using some good quality vodka p.s the aniseed twists make it taste exactly the same as pernod x x
@lauren, Uk has the best candy! I’m glad you got creative, you little artist, you. Let me know what comes out as your favorite!
Have you ever tried to make gummy bear shots? I’m trying it with Sour Patch Kids and just wondering if you have any ideas. I have read through all the comments and it seems like you would have the answer (I hope you do). I plan on doing something like you did above. Just soaking the Sour Patch Kids in Absolute vodka, hopefully soaking up the alcohol and tasting like the flavor of the Sour Patch Kid. Any suggestions or ideas? Love this blog by the way. So many great ideas!!
@Seth, the Sour Patch Kids work! Because they are gummy based they may take longer to break down in the liquor. I’d put it all together, then taste test after a week to see if you need more.