Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and so I’ve decided to do a series of posts this week with fun recipes and treats for the upcoming weekend. To kick things off, I thought I would put together some great recipes for cocktails and drinks. Especially given that Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, I’m sure there will be no shortage of parties. Sometimes it’s nice to have a solid cocktail before you start drinking lite beer by the case.
To kick things off, I made this sweet and very orange cordial: The Candy Corn Martini!
Kind of sweet for my tastes...
Ok. So I’m really not big on sweet cocktails and so I didn’t love this specific drink because as you can imagine, it is really sweet. But it’s pretty and very orange and I think I maybe didn’t put in enough lemon juice to balance the sweetness.
Candy Corn Martini (Adapted from A Food Network recipe)
- 3/4 Cup vodka (you can use the cheap stuff for this)
- 1/4 Cup candy cornObviously, you can multiply the vodka part for as much as you need.
Final drink:
- 3 parts candy corn vodka
- 1 part orange liquor (triple sec)
- 1 part lemon juice
- 1/2 egg white (I used one egg white per two cocktails. This is optional, but the egg white does make for a very frothy and delicious final drink.)Helpful Equipment:
- Cocktail Shaker
Making the Candy Corn Vodka. So it turns out that candy corn dissolves in vodka. That makes it pretty easy to get that very signature, sugary flavor infused with the vodka. All you have to do is add your vodka and candy corn into a vessel of some sort and let it sit for about 2 or 3 hours. It’s probably a good idea to cover it just so stuff doesn’t get in it.
Kind of odd.
After the few hours of sitting, all that awesome orange color will be dissolved in the vodka!
Whoa!
I’d recommend straining your vodka before making the drink just because there may be a few bits of undissolved candy corns.
Mixing up the drink. Add some ice cubes to your cocktail shaker, then add a few ounces of the candy corn vodka. If you aren’t comfortable with guessing at mixology, I would start with 1/4 cup of vodka.
You’ll need these ingredients also!
You could not use the egg white if that is worrisome for you.
Cocktails are usually given in proportions (as I listed it above) that way you can make as much as you want! Assuming you added 1/4 cup of the vodka, go with 1.5 Tablespoons lemon juice (fresh is best), 1.5 Tablespoons orange liquor, and 1/2 of an egg white. Add all that stuff to your cocktail shaker!
Because of the egg thing, it’s easier to make two cocktails at once in a larger shaker so you don’t have to divide an egg white.
Anyway, once all of that is in the shaker, just shake if up for 20 seconds or so until it is super-chilled and frothy! Pour it into a martini glass and garnish with a few candy corns!
Like I said, I’m not one for sweet drinks really so this wasn’t my favorite. Also, I didn’t use enough lemon juice when I made it so it was really really sweet. Be sure to taste it as you go though and adjust to your tastes.
Honestly, I think that this mixture might be better as shots instead of martinis! A full drink of it is almost too much, but it would be cool to have it as a shooter!
10 Other Drinks! Ok. So if candy corn isn’t your thing, I didn’t want to leave you high and dry for Halloween! Here’s 10 links to a variety of drinks that I think would be great for a Halloween Happy Hour.
Witch’s Brew – A pretty good looking lime punch. You can probably fore-go some of the kitschy Sandra Lee decorations. You could also leave out the vodka and add more water (or Sprite) to make a non-alcoholic version. (@ Food Network)
Slime Rickey – The grapes look creepy! I love it. Also, I’m not the only one who digs the candy corn cordial idea. (@ Yum Sugar)
Blood and Bones – I love a good meringue and the hot chocolate recipe looks great! (@ Joy the Baker)
Maggotini – Now this is my kind of drink! Not because of the maggot factor, but because I enjoy gin. (@ Talk of Tomatoes)
Satan’s Whiskers – One more gin based drink, but this one has some interesting flavors going on. Not sure what makes it Halloween-ready besides the name, but it does look tasty! (@ Serious Eats)
Eyeball Highball – Ok. Maybe the most realistic cocktail I’ve seen. It looks pretty real if you ask me. (@ Martha)
Bloody Apple Cranberry Cocktails – An easy recipe that can be made in bulk for a party! (@ The Cooking Photographer)
The Warlock – This drink has some interesting ingredients that you may not know. No better time than Halloween to try out some new beverages! (@ Al Dente)
Pumpkin Cocktail – Get on this one today if you want to have it ready by Saturday! You need to let the vodka infuse with pumpkin for at least a few days. (@ Slashfood)
Blood Orange Cocktail – So this is exactly a Halloween specific recipe, but it has blood in the title! And it’s an awesome color! (@ The Hungry Mouse)
That’s a start, but my hunt for good Halloween cocktails is far from over. Have a favorite? Leave a comment!
Its a great idea to add candy corn to vodka. I must try it.
so we get sugar and alcohol in one punch? hello!
my teeth hurt just looking at this one. I like your shot idea though… that might be a little more tolerable. I wonder if there’s a way to it with some other colors so that it looks like a candy corn too.
Ohhh! I so know what I am doing with the bags of candy corn my son will be getting the Halloween.
You are right, it looks like it will be on the sweet side. Nothing like an HFCS shock. Nick, have you considered trying it with an energy drink, like Hype? Now there would be a drink – The Candied Corn Vodka Rocket! Crash and Burn Baby!
@lk. I thought about trying to layer it with some cream to give it a white base, but it was just too much work… especially if you are trying to make a bunch.
@Jason. I feel like that drink might give me a heart attack. Actually, I’m 90% sure it would. ;)
Mmm, infused vodka. Such a nice thing. This is perfect for the adult Halloween party!
Nick:
I’m digging this post… love the candy corn martini…thanks for giving us the scoop on where to find some different drink options.
like it and love the blog
Really neat stuff. Man what Do I try first the cups or drink. Not hard vodka rules. Maybe some cranberry may cut sweetness too and add a little blood look
We’re going to be making this for our Halloween party!!