Adults Only Treats Using Halloween Candy

Once the children collect all the Halloween candy, the excitement wanes and there are leftover Jelly Beans, Starburst and Skittles, it’s time for the adults to party, right?

Our friends at CandyStore.com have put together a collection of their favorite candy-infused vodka recipes — which they argue is the best use of leftover Halloween candy.

Candy-infused vodka is an indulgence that adults might want to partake in every once in a while. If you’ve never infused vodka, you’re missing out. It’s relatively easy, and super delicious.

Making candy-infused vodka is a lot like making rock candy. There is one basic recipe, but many variations of it. There are even more variations for infused vodka, because of the different candy types you can use.

The basic steps, again, for adults:

Pour candy into a glass container with a lid, such as a mason jar.
Pour vodka on top of candy, at least covering it and usually to fill three-quarters of the container.
Seal container and let sit for some amount of time — usually at least 24 hours and up to a week.

That’s about it. The last step, of course, means that there is plenty of variation. That is why CandyStore.com has come up with some guidelines.

After looking at the wonderful candy-infused vodka recipes gathered, you’ll probably want to try your own concoctions. Even better, you might be inspired to try some candies that aren’t in this list.

After reading about and experimenting with candy infused vodka, the candy store company has come up with a set of guidelines for creating your own. Some of them are tough to follow (you won’t really know how long to infuse the vodka until you try), but if you keep them in mind you’ll probably create something at least drinkable.

Go for a mid-range Vodka. You can infuse any kind of vodka, but we don’t see why you’d spend good money on a bottle of Grey Goose only to adulterate it. Avoid the plastic-jug vodka, but get something in the middle tier — something you wouldn’t be too upset if you ruined.
Stick with a single flavor/color per infusion. Throughout this list you’ll find many multi-flavor candies. While you can toss them all into a jar and pour vodka on top, what you’ll get is an oddly flavored, brown-looking mess. If you’re using Jolly Ranchers, for instance, use just the watermelon — or, if you’re feeling adventurous, combine all the flavors that are colored red. But mixing and matching usually produces dreary looking results.
Use mason jars or other glass containers. We saw some people using plastic containers to infuse vodka. While there are certainly platics that can withstand alcohol, we really don’t recommend it. You’ll do just fine with a mason jar.
Some candies absorb alcohol well. This isn’t so much a guideline as a reminder. If you infuse gummy candy like gummy bears, they’re going to absorb a good amount of that alcohol. Find a way to serve them.
No sugar coating. Most people don’t want to infuse something like sour candy, because the sugar coating will render the vodka far too sweet.

Got it? Time for adults in the room on to some of the favorite candy-infused vodka recipes.

If you like your vodka sweet, then you are going to love this Starburst infused vodka recipe. Jen from Mix That Drink approached this infusion with gusto, creating bottles for every flavor in the pack — even combining the strawberry and lemon ones for an experimental flavor. The Starburst completely broke down within a day, so you’ll have to carefully filter these or else it’ll be all thick and syrupy.

We’re dipping right back into MTD, because they did a phenomenal job on not only Starburst, but also Skittles candy infused vodka. As with the Starbust, the Skittles dissolve overnight. You’ll need a very good strainer, such as cheesecloth, to make sure none of the goop makes it into your vodka. But once you get that stuff filtered out, it’s some fruity tasting vodka indeed.

As you’ll see, many of these drinks could be classified in two different spots. While jelly beans clearly go into fruity candies, the addition of the marshmallow bunnies makes it kind of an occasion. But it’s a garnish, and so you can really enjoy this one anytime. While this recipe calls for a martini, you can enjoy the jelly bean infused vodka by itself. If you want the cocktail version, add Chambord in place of Vermouth. It is quite tasty indeed.