It’s nearly Halloween, and I know what you’re thinking: “How do I cram more candy into my body?” Eating candy as a snack is a good start, but it’s essential to incorporate sweets into your beverages for a well-balanced Halloween. As you plan for this weekend’s festivities, consider buying extra candy to jazz up your creepy cocktails with a candy garnish. They can be much more complimentary than you may have thought (read here for pairing ideas). Their bright colors and flashy packaging also significantly raise the festive factor. You can garnish your drinks in three mysterious ways: rotisserie-style, the simple drop-in technique, or frozen into an ice cube.
I recommend the rotisserie look for most chocolate candies, like fun-size Milky Ways or Snickers, because what’s the point of fun-size anyway if not for fitting on a skewer for your drink–and you can keep the glitzy metallic wrapper on. The wrapper helps your guests identify the candy they like, and, well, unwrapped chocolates are rather turd-shaped and generally look less attractive at the bottom of a Manhattan. (It seems more like the bottom of the East River.)
Additionally, you can skewer them in advance without touching them all, so you can have a pile ready to drape over cocktails as guests arrive without the candy being exposed to the elements. It’s also a great option if you’d like to give your guests a choice of whether they want candy. I used a bamboo skewer cut in half, but you can purchase large toothpicks that are just as effective. Just ensure the length is longer than the mouth of the glasses you’ll use.
You can skewer, rotisserie-style, or any other soft candies, but do take advantage of themed-shaped sweets like gummy vampires, skulls, or gummy eyeballs, though I think those candies are more effective as a drop-in garnish. Eyeballs and gummy worms are fantastic because they look ghostly and warped at the bottom of a martini glass. The cloudier the cocktail, the better. Especially if you’re trying to surprise some guests, Gummy candies are especially significant because, unlike Skittles or M&Ms (decidedly non-scary candies), the gelatin keeps them from being readily soluble in water. Gummies won’t dissolve into your drink, so you won’t alter the flavor of the cocktail or the candy by the time you get to the bottom. Be aware that sour gummies should match up with the drink you’re putting them in: The sour powder and granulated sugar are exposed on the candy’s surface and will dissolve into the glass rather quickly. If you use sour candy, stick with garnishing tangy, citrusy cocktails.
The ice cube method is one of my favorite ways to use candy garnishes. Prepare an ice cube tray half-filled with water. Insert any small festive candies that you like. Once again, I suggest candy that doesn’t dissolve quickly, so leave the Smarties alone. (Actually, leave those at the store.) On the bright side, you’ll get a colorful ice cube if you use dissolving candies. Gummy eyeballs and vampire’s teeth look great in cubes. Place one or two candies into each divot–it’s OK if they stick out slightly, sometimes that’s even better.
Additionally, you can skewer them in advance without touching them all, so you can have a pile ready to drape over cocktails as guests arrive without the candy being exposed to the elements. It’s also a great option if you’d like to give your guests a choice of whether they want candy. I used a bamboo skewer cut in half, but you can purchase large toothpicks that are just as effective. Just ensure the length is longer than the mouth of the glasses you’ll use.
You can skewer, rotisserie-style, or any other soft candies, but do take advantage of themed-shaped sweets like gummy vampires, skulls, or gummy eyeballs, though I think those candies are more effective as a drop-in garnish. Eyeballs and gummy worms are fantastic because they look ghostly and warped at the bottom of a martini glass. The cloudier the cocktail, the better. Especially if you’re trying to surprise some guests, Gummy candies are especially significant because, unlike Skittles or M&Ms (decidedly non-scary candies), the gelatin keeps them from being readily soluble in water. Gummies won’t dissolve into your drink, so you won’t alter the flavor of the cocktail or the candy by the time you get to the bottom. Pop them in the freezer for about three hours until thoroughly frozen. The cubes will cloud up slightly, leading to a sufficiently creepy cube. Dislodge one from the tray, drop it into a rocks glass for a fabulously freaky cocktail, and enjoy the energy from these candy-laden drinks.
